The CoStar Killer
by momoirousagichan
Summary: Tsuruga Ren has a reputation for making his co-stars fall in love with him. So despite knowing that, why is Kyoko looking forward to co-starring with him?
1. Chapter 1: Kyoko's Graduation

**Chapter 1:**

**Dedication:** To my long suffering beta-reader, Bloody_Rose021, for putting up with me.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of this. I just run away with my imagination.

* * *

"This one, this one… and this one."

"That's quite a lot," Yashiro Yukihito observantly said, going through the offers that Tsuruga Ren would be accepting. "And very diverse."

"Well, they're all very good offers," Ren shrugged. "BJ's taken quite a bite of my time for the last couple of months and I can't even use that in my filmography."

Simple. To the point. Rational. That's how Ren's always been when it comes to justifying things. Yashiro didn't really have any choice but to agree. "I guess."

"Oh, and this one too," he said as he handed him another one.

Yashiro glanced at the last title that Ren would be accepting and his eyes widened at it. "Ren, this is a cutesy light-hearted romance!"

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Not really." Well, yeah, Ren became popular with dramas and movies with themes that had light romance in them. He was really good at them and had increased his fanbase because of them. But… "You've already done a super deep romance as Katsuki and played a sinister villain as BJ. As your manager, I have my concerns. Ren… isn't this like… taking a step back?"

"Don't think about it like that," Ren smiled. "It's nice to think that I'll get to do something familiar, I'm not stepping back. Just because I've diversified my genres doesn't mean I'm giving up the ones I've worked on. I mean, compared to the other offers that I accepted, it is lighter but that's the point. I want to work on something that will be less stressful." He took a sip of water and added, "Besides, this is directed by Shingai Seiji, so no matter how light-hearted it is, it's not."

"That's true…" Yukihito thought back to how exacting the young director was when he was working on Ring Doh. He and Ren may have been accomplices for the leading actress, but he was just as hard on Ren about what he wanted when shooting finally started. "But this thing doesn't even have a female lead yet. From what Matsushima-san told me when this was handed to me, the producers didn't even have a clue who to choose as female lead and are waiting for Director Shingai's recommendation. It could be a troublesome co-star for you."

"Tsch," Ren smirked. "If it were the producers who are going to choose the girl then I would be wondering who the female lead is. But you know how Director Shingai is when it comes to choosing people to work with. This movie will be my sanity saver so worrying about those kinds of things will be the last thing on my mind."

* * *

No matter how many times they'd been in this place, commoners like her and Kotonami Kanae couldn't quite past awe whenever they were called into Takarada Lory's office.

'Maybe it has something to do with this…' she thought, as she stared hard at an elaborate miniature marble statue of a Greek Goddess. Maybe it's because the décor kept changing all the time, becoming more elaborate and more ostentatious than the previous one?

"Ladies!" The President's booming voice startled the two girls onto their feet as the double doors of his office flew open.

"Goood afternoon, President," she and Moko-san bowed to greet him.

"Please… have a seat!" He said, as he settled on the chair across them. He smiled. "I'm sorry to keep you girls waiting. But that damn Seiichi had me caught in another deadlock!"

Seiichi? As in Seiichi-san, the nice fatherly man in Accounting who has a receding hairline and a shy way of interacting with women?

"I mean, really!" The President cried out in frustration. "How can a man leave another very cute girl after she declares her love for him? That darn, indecisive playboy!" He grumbled as he reached out and sipped on the wine prepared for him on the table.

Ah so… Seiichi-san from Accounting is some kind of perverted playboy… Kyoko concluded. Somehow, even though the image didn't fit, she was now seeing the man in a different light.

"So anyway," the President's mood shifted back. "Are you girls having fun with your work? You've been with us for more than a year now."

"Of course we are!" the two replied in unison.

"That's good then," he smiled, reaching out for his glass. "But you know… the two of you can't stay in the Love Me Section forever."

"Eh?"

Does this mean…?

"It's been a year for you girls. If you stay there, you'll get left behind by everyone in the same batch who went through the same audition as you two who already made their debut. Also, a new set of auditions will be coming around soon enough." He looked at them each in the eye. "We need to start evaluating your futures here in LME."

Is he… letting them go? Kyoko's lower lip quivered. Well, maybe not Kanae who received great reviews in the drama she was cast in. But she's been stuck in the same place playing bully role after bully role. She didn't want to go! There was still so much she could learn. So much she wanted to learn!

"…So, I'm thinking, that it's about time you girls graduate from the Love Me Section."

"Huh?" the two of the looked up at him.

"What does this mean, sir?"

"What I mean is," He smiled. "You'll be out of the Love Me Section and the Talent Department. You'll be moving to the Acting Department under Matsushima-san. With all the benefits of an actress under LME that go with it."

Kyoko let out a breath of relief. That would mean… she could stay!

"You mean…" Moko-san exclaimed. "No more pink uniforms? No more weird errands? No more special requests from anyone?"

"Well," the President grinned. "About the last part, maybe from time to time."

And then it finally hit Kyoko. She was going to be in the Acting Department! The smile that was forming on her face was suddenly put to a stop when the President said, "However…"

However? There's a however? Why is there a however?

"You have to accomplish one final assignment. Well, a test of some sort."

"Test?"

"You both have progressed really fast for newbies. You've met different kinds of people and have experienced many different things with working on different projects," the President stated. "But you still have shortcomings. You know what they are. They're the ones that placed you in the Love Me Section in the first place. I want to see how your experience can overcome those shortcomings. Ah, Sawara-kun!" The President smiled as he glanced over their shoulders as the double doors opened again. "Just in time, I was just telling the girls about their last Love Me assignments…"

* * *

Kotonami Kanae laid her palm against the glass-paned windows just outside the President's lobby and turned to Kyoko, whose back was against the wall as she slowly slid down onto the floor. Somehow… what she was doing didn't seem like such a bad idea. She walked up to her and sat down beside her.

"President…" Kyoko murmured. "You're asking the impossible."

"You said it," she breathed out as she rested her chin on her knees.

Their last assignments would be to appear in two different movies in different genres that they were particularly weak in. She would be working in a family-oriented movie, while Kyoko was going to be working on a romance.

"But Moko-san!" Kyoko tearily said. "Hiou-kun was the one who specifically requested for you to work with him on the film. The two of you already get along. You're basically a shoo-in for this assignment."

"Stop joking around with me!" Kanae turned and glared at her. "After that little brat came over to pick me up, he was as demonic as hell once he got on set. That little 12-year old shouted at everyone for everything that dissatisfied him even in the slightest way." She sighed and studied the tips of her shoes. "And what about you? You have a director that specifically requested for you. Looks like you impressed the guy very much."

"T-that's impossible!" Kyoko stammered. "I failed on the acting test for the lead for Ring Doh! I couldn't even finish the test because I fainted and had to be brought to the hospital. Plus, at the time, I had literally zero experience in acting! What could I have possibly done to impress Director Shingai Seiji?"

"Who knows?" Kanae moped.

Ring Doh was a movie with no traces of Kyoko in it. She remembered that the cast included Matsunai Ruriko and Tsuruga Ren – Wait a minute! That guy knew Kyoko even back then? Once she was in LME, she had heard rumors that Tsuruga Ren specifically requested the lead actress to co-star with him there! Could it be… that he requested for Kyoko? Matsunai Ruriko was an idol who was a very good singer but a mediocre to moderately good actress. He's not the type to work with people like her! She barely passed Kanae's own estimation when she watched Ring Doh one boring afternoon in the reference library. But Kyoko… On the other hand, Kyoko is one of the most talented actresses she's ever encountered. The thought that Tsuruga Ren knew her longer – meaning better, really pisses her off!

"Anyway… how can I act out 'love' when all I've worked on are a soda CM, a deranged angel and two bullies?" Kyoko whined. "What am I going to do?"

"I'm doing it!" Kanae stood up. Angrily, she turned to her partner in that cursed division. "You…"

"Me?"

"Do it too," she crossed her arms over her chest and looked down on her. "I don't know about you, but my goal is to become an actress to represent all of Japan. When that finally happens, the two of us can't be friends anymore!"

"What!? Why!?"

"Mo! Don't you get it?" She flashed her best friend a challenging smile. "Because, stupid, we're rivals. When I succeed, I refuse to acknowledge someone who is not at my level as my rival."

With that, Kyoko straightened up.

"Besides," She grinned evilly. "If you fail, you don't only lose to me. You'll lose to him too." Kyoko's eyes narrowed. "To Fuwa Sho."

And then she saw it, the glint of determination of an unbreakable spirit who refused to be beaten by that jerk who broke her heart. Kanae lifted and chin and stared at her. Like hell she'd admit that when she succeeds and Kyoko stays in the Love Me Section that she'd miss her because she'd be too busy and Kyoko would continue to be hanging around him as his kouhai. The two of them would be the best of friends and the worst of rivals on the same stage. "So? What do you plan to do, Kyoko?"

* * *

"Matsushima-san?" Sawara Takenori said as he picked up his mobile phone. "I'm at the President's office." He walked to the windows to get a better reception. "Really? He accepted the role? … I was actually expecting that he was going to reject it… Eh, why? He's already played all those big roles, I thought cutesy romances were no longer in his league… He did? … Well, Mogami-kun accepted after the President made an offer he couldn't refuse… Ah, OK! I'll talk to you when I get back down there."

He hung up and turned to the President. "Looks like Mogami-kun finally has a leading man."

"Ah, wonderful!" the President smiled, slouched in his chair and took a puff off his cigar. "Who is it?"

"Ren."

The president choked on the tobacco he just inhaled. "He did?" he coughed. "Out of all the top actors here in Japan who were offered this role, he was the one who accepted?"

"So it seems," Sawara nodded.

"The part about this being Mogami-kun's grand debut film hasn't been leaked to him, wouldn't it?"

"Of course not," Sawara nodded. "Only you, me and Matsushima-san know about the girls' grand debut plans. Like you said, the less people who know about it, the less the girls will find out about it."

The President smiled grimly. "So Ren accepted the role on his own?

"It's just an unofficial, verbal OK. Yashiro-kun said that they'll pass by tomorrow afternoon to pass the paperwork before we contact the production. The usual. Matsushima-san was kinda surprised too. But Yashiro-kun said Ren mentioned looking for something more rooted to what he's used to other than the more complex roles that he's been offered and accepted. 'Less stressful' I think was what Ren said."

Then the President let out what Sawara would describe as an ugly laugh. "That's a very interesting way to word it."

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Sawara asked. Sure, he knew that Mogami-kun was quite volatile and unpredictable. But she wouldn't be getting all sorts of offers if she was difficult to work with. News like that has a way of getting around this industry. And besides, Ren took on Mogami-kun as his kouhai so they would get along with each other well. And anyway, aren't most actresses volatile anyways?

"I think," the President smirked, taking another puff. "Mogami-kun's assignment has just gotten ten times more interesting."

Interesting? How could it be interesting when she was just cut an easy break for her final 'assignment' since she won't have that much difficulty since her co-star is someone she gets along with. "Just because Ren took the offer? Why?"

The President looked at him with a frown on his face. "Remember what I told you during those two's audition? See the possibilities. You're still a bore incapable of imagination, aren't you, Sawara-kun?"

"Eh?" Maybe he's just not the type to get carried away by an overactive imagination like him… Sawara glanced at the man's overly amused face. After all, this was a man who was plotting a hostile takeover of a gaming software company to make more sensible otome games themed on deep romance.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- Well, there's nothing in this chapter yet. Just something to establish the premise. I know this is a typical Ren and Kyoko star in a movie together, but I promise to keep this as different as possible. I think things will pick up in the next chapter since Ren-sama will be there. That'll be up in a couple of days when it's passes muster with my beta reader.

- As I said, I still don't know what's going to happen. YET. I only thought up of this fanfic about halfway through - No. I'm lying. I just haven't figured out what kind of ending to give them. But I already know that this is going to one loooooooong fanfic so... good luck to me.


	2. Chapter 2: Ren's Mortification

**Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer:** Skip Beat! Not mine.  
**  
Acknowledgments:** Ecki and Bloody_Rose021 - Thanks for the help out.

* * *

"Tsuruga Ren? Your male lead is Tsuruga Ren?" said Moko-san on the other end the line.

"Yep!" Kyoko replied excitedly as she leaned against the wall of the more isolated corridors of the LME Headquarters where she discovered the mobile phone reception to be good. "Sawara-san just told me when I picked up the script earlier."

"Nnnn-hnn…" Moko-san grumbled.

"Moko-san, what's wrong?" Kyoko felt her happiness diminished a little at her friend's lack off enthusiasm. "Being able to work with him is just as good as you working with Hio-kun. It's like some kind of dream, isn't it? You want to act in something that has an amazing cast while mine would be to act with the best actor in Japan."

"I guess…" Moko-san muttered that Kyoko almost didn't understand her. "Well, just make sure you don't fall for the trap of that co-star killer."

"Co-star killer?"

"That's right!" Moko-san cried out. "I worked with someone who co-starred with him before. Mo! You think you couldn't find a more transparent girl. She acted like we were instant best friends or something when she found out that I was from LME. Just because Tsuruga-san and I are in the same agency does not mean…"

Now where has she heard that term before? Kyoko racked her brain and the memory brought her back to the time of Tsuruga-san's acting test for Katsuki in Dark Moon. The image of Momose-san's beet red face came to mind because of the improvisation that Tsuruga-san made. She also remembered Momose-san's reaction and Yashiro-san telling her that, whether acting in a romance or not, Tsuruga-san can make any co-star of his fall in love with him.

And like then, Kyoko had chills running down her spine and whispered, "That's so creepy…" she replied.

"That's right! And it's even creepier with someone as pathetic as her who can't even pronounce the word 'suspicious'. Like it was some kind of tongue twister or something…" said Moko.

Her heart thumped. She felt like that, too, during the Dark Moon simulation game, where she was being closely held by the Emperor of the Night in his apartment. She actually misconstrued Yashiro-san's words, and believed herself to be in love with Tsuruga-san, too. Of course, she quickly realized that she only thought that because she was overwhelmed since it was the first time in her life she's been held that way. And, that Tsuruga-san's is just that great of an actor to be able to draw out such emotions out of the person, who's playing opposite her. At that time, Tsuruga-san said that he was able to perform well in the acting test, because, Momose-san was such a great actress. And she remembered the hurt she felt that she didn't get the same reaction from him because she was not as good an actress as she was yet.

That's why after that, she correctly channeled all the confusion her darkened heart into becoming a better actress with the objective of defeating Tsuruga-san. By way of, being able to act on the same level as him.

Kyoko just smiled at Moko-san's needless worrying.

"…are you?" Moko questioned Kyoko, over the phone.

The question reeled Kyoko back to the present. "Huh?"

There was a few seconds of silence. "Kyoko…" Moko-san drawled out angrily. "Were you even listening to me?"

"Um…"

"Mo!" she said exasperatedly. "If you're going to pick my number to call, at least listen to what I have to say…"

"Ah heh heh," Kyoko gave out a small, guilty laugh. "Sorry, Moko-san. My mind flew away with me."

"Mmm…" Moko-san growled. "Hmph! Well, either way… I need to go. I have to prepare for make-up."

"OK."

"Kyoko…"

"What is it?"

"If you end up being disgusting, by doing pathetic things, like falling for Tsuruga-san. I'm going to pretend that I don't know you, even if, you shout my personal information in the street."

"Don't worry," Kyoko giggled. "That's never going to happen."

"OK, then I'll call you tonight," Moko-san said just before hanging up.

Kyoko clamped her phone shut and sighed with relief. So that was all Moko-san has been worried about? Well, she got over that fear a couple of months ago. She and Tsuruga-san have been in each other's company a lot of times, and have been through a lot that, those kinds of things are considered non-issues. He is, after all, the type of person to make it very clear about his relationships with people. She's not really all that different. He's her senpai – he said so himself a long time ago when they saw each other in TBM Studios. Not that she had any problem with that. It just reminds her of her place.

She started to make her way back to the Love Me Section office. She was really excited about this now. Last night, she felt as though that the only incentive she had for this thing was her graduation from the Love Me Section, and, her only motivation was not to lose Moko-san as a friend. Both reasonably valid reasons, but it had nothing to do with the movie itself. So, it's kinda iffy. Since she's always enjoyed the jobs she's been assigned to.

But now she's really looking forward to the job. Because she will be working with Tsuruga-san, one of the best actors in Japan! He taught her nearly everything she knew. And, she was really happy that she would be able to show him everything that she'd learned. He'll be happy and proud to see firsthand the kind of actress she'd become under his strict tutelage.

And speak of the man himself! She happily thought as she stopped halfway though opening the door and came face-to-face with the actor.

"Hello, Mogami-san," greeted Ren.

"Tsuruga-san," she bowed with a big smile on her face. "Good afternoon."

"I hope I'm not intruding," he said belatedly since he was already seated on a chair for the work table set up at the center of the room. "The door was open and I was told you were here, so I just let myself in."

"No problem!" she replied cheerfully, closing the door. Tsuruga-san has developed a habit of hanging around the Love Me Section office, whenever he was in LME. Most stars like him, pass by there for official business, like meetings. They don't really have places to hang around, in between, other than the lounges. Yashiro-san once told her, that Tsuruga-san tends to just walk around, or hang out in the stairwell. Because, he's been accosted one too many times by visitors, who goes on tours of the LME headquarters.

She laid down the script and other paperworks on the desk, and went straight to tidying up the mess she left, before going to L.A. Hearts for her meeting with Sawara-san. She snuck a peek at Tsuruga-san through her eyelashes and was surprised to see him looking back at her.

He just stared for a moment and asked, "Did something happen?"

"Huh?" she looked at him as she sat down.

"You look like you want to tell me something."

"Ah! Well…" She straightened up and smiled. She might as well start on the right foot. After all, she wants to have lots of fun while working on this movie. "Tsuruga-san…"

"What is it?"

"I'm leaving the Love Me Section!"

"Huh?"

"The President said," she grinned. "Moko-san and I will be graduating from the Love Me Section soon, and be moved to the Acting Department."

"Then, that's great," Tsuruga-san said with a wide smile. "Congratulations to you then. This calls for a celebration."

"Well…" She squirmed in her seat and looked at her lap. "I still have one more assignment to complete so…" She looked up to him through her eyelashes and smiled. "Well…"

"What is it?" a puzzled Ren asked.

* * *

A sly smile lined Yashiro Yukihito's face, as he made his way to the Love Me Section office, because that boring predictable Ren wouldn't be anywhere else. Good thing too, since his mobile phone is still in repair, after he broke it, the day before.

Anyway, after a long morning of the same motions of Ren jumping from one job after the other, they finally stopped by LME Headquarters to formally submit the offers that Ren will be accepting. There, he learned from Matsushima-san, after he informed him of who, Ren will be acting with, in that cutesy romance that Yukihito was so opposed to yesterday. Now, he can't wait to see the look on his face.

It's been more than a week, since they've seen Kyoko-chan. Since, Dark Moon ended, the only time they ever really see Kyoko-chan was in LME. And, she's also busy with school, and her drama Box "R" along with all sorts of work both acting- and Love Me-related.

Well, he blew that chance, Yukihito thought dryly. The guy had her for several months and he never made his move. In fact, short of locking the two of them in a room – Oh wait, he's done that too! That's why he keeps tabs on Kyoko-chan's schedule and why he opted to drop by today, instead of last night, like Ren insisted.

But, it seems like God or Buddha or someone up there is smiling down at him, since he now has another chance to spend time with her again. And if, he screws this one up too, then he really doesn't deserve all the good luck he's been–

"Yashiro-san!" a voice from behind called out to him.

Yukihito turned around to find Ren walking up to him. "Eh!? Ren? What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you," the actor replied in an 'Isn't it obvious' tone. "I went by Matsushima-san's office but there wasn't anyone there so I tried L.A. Hearts but no one's there either."

"That's right," Yukihito answered mechanically, his head still confused as to why Ren is here and not in the Love Me Office. "Matsushima-san said that he'll be going off-site for a late lunch meeting. He's was kinda in a hurry when I was there."

"Then that's good," Ren let out a sigh of relief. "Then he probably hasn't contacted any of them yet. I just decided to take another offer so I'm dropping the Shingai movie."

"What!?" Yukihito nearly yelled.

"Well," Ren gave a short shallow-toned laugh. "I've given what you told me yesterday some thought and I decided that you're right. I should be taking on more challenging roles and stuff…"

And stuff? That was a reason? Ren has always been rational when it comes to projects that he will take on. When it comes to deciding his work, his reasons are usually simple and to the point. And come to think of it, he's never backed out on any job he's decided to take one. This would be the first time and his reason is 'And stuff…'?

"Ren," Yukihito reasoned. "I did tell you that. But this is Kyoko-chan's movie debut. Kyoko-chan," he emphasized. "Don't you want to be a part of–"

But the guy wasn't listening. "I guess you should just give them a call now, since when we move to the next job, we might forget." said Ren. "Oh yeah… you're phone's broken, right?" Ren reached for his pants pocket. "Damn it… I left mine somewhere. Wait by the parking lot floor, ok? I'll just go look for it."

* * *

"I'm actually thinking about dropping that project." said Tsuruga-san.

Kyoko's head was spinning with disbelief and fell on her knees.

"Why on earth would I want to work with as inexperienced as you?" Tsuruga-san crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "I mean, really… Have you even really thought about why I wouldn't want to work with you?"

"B-b-but…." Kyoko stammered. "Everything I learned was because of you! I know I still have a lot of shortcomings but I hoped that I'll learn more from you!"

"Eh?" Tsuruga-san just stared at her. "You know what I see when I think about the future with you in it?"

Kyoko's face slowly reflected the horrified feelings she felt as he itemized everything for her.

"Character-building problems." Ren pointed out.

There was a sharp slash right on her back.

"Bothersome phone calls asking mundane things that 'first-rate actresses' should already know." says Ren pushing the metaphorical knife in.

Another slash.

"2 A.M. field trips to my place, as a last ditch effort to save yourself from total failure." said Ren, taking another stab at Kyoko's already injured heart.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just really wanted to show you how much I've really learned. That I'm not someone you can be ashamed to call your kouhai," Kyoko bowed her head over and over at him.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" said Tsuruga-san.

And with that last statement, the 1:25 scale Tsuruga Ren "Giving Up In Shock and Disgust" type doll slipped and fell on the floor, signaling the end of her one-person shaming play.

Kyoko sighed, sat down on the floor, huddled her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees.

Of course, he'll be letting go of that movie. That movie is already beneath his level. Unlike her, she's willing to work to her limit because it's her movie debut. While, he will have zero benefit working on it. After all, she thought as she got up on her feet, no matter how hard she works to improve herself to get to his level, he's also been working to make himself even better. Making her goals harder and harder to achieve.

The man represents the top. And if, she wants to be on top when she finally faces off with Shotaro, she has to be at that place to ensure her victory.

She sighed. Oh well, she stood up and turned back to the desk. She just hopes that the actor who will be playing male lead in his place would be someone just as good. There would be no point moping over it. Tsuruga-san said that she'll just be a pain if she lets it drag out.

She caught something move at the corner of her eye and stopped, turned as found herself face-to-face with a 1:1 scale Tsuruga Ren "Real Live" type standing by the open door.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- The one-person shaming game is a reference to Chapter 123 where Kyoko is scolding herself using Ren's character. It happens a lot when she is talking to a Ren doll she has made. I think she does it whenever she thinks she's being foolish about something show business related and she tries to think how Ren - the actor she looks up to the most in the world - would react.


	3. Chapter 3: Kyoko's Ice Cream

**Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer: **Skip Beat! is never this disorganized so I obviously don't own it.  
**  
Acknowledgments:** Ecki for beta-reading ^^

* * *

"Kismet is not a cutesy romance," Director Shingai declared at 9:00 AM, several weeks later. "It's only known as one, because the light novel is very popular with high schoolers. Going through the book and script, it just doesn't center around the main characters' refusal to honor their arranged marriage simply because, they refuse to admit that they're in love with each other. There are a lot of social issues to tap into, suicide, family honor, peer pressure, etc. As actors, I want you to present strong hints of these themes and not just limit ourselves to the love story part."

Ren didn't need to be told that. He had read the script and skimmed through the book. If looking at it, from the point of view of a love story, it's a pretty straightforward one. And a PG-12 movie too - appropriate for capturing Mogami-san's potential target audience.

His character, Satoshi, was a super serious guy who has been in love with his childhood friend, Chiaki. They had a falling out with after he thought she didn't feel the same way when their parents instigated an arranged marriage interview between them. Since, he didn't want someone who didn't feel the same way. He backed out of the arranged marriage, and they went their separate ways after graduating high school.

The present time line of the movie would be Satoshi as a carefree, devil-may-care university student, that encounters Chiaki at a friend's wedding. Also, as second son, he was again, being pressured by his family to reconsider their arranged marriage. Because of his parents' desire to help Chiaki's failing family business, after her entire family died in a span of one year. But his parents' help won't be allowed by his grandfather, who didn't see any benefits helping someone not family or help make their business grow. Of course, through the course of the story, Satoshi realizes he's still in love with Chiaki.

But, of course, he thought contemplatively, if other aspects were to be presented in the film, Satoshi's tendencies to give in to peer pressures upon entering university and his rebellion would have to be highlighted.

He was only half-listening to everything Director Shingai. Idly jotting down notes, as he snuck a glance at his co-star, who was seated across him from the table. Her head was turned facing the director, her eyes alert and attentive, listening to every word that's being said.

Of course she's be taking all this seriously. He expected nothing less from her. Apart from this being her first leading role on her movie debut. She told him earlier, before the script reading session started, that she was excited because she finally gets to play one of her dream roles – a proper ojou-sama.

Other than that momentary trip to dreamland, she was professional, business-like and confident. She made no comments of self-doubt or complaints of encountering any problems.

He didn't know if he should be happy or worried about it.

"…that I'm not someone you'll be ashamed to call your kouhai," she said that day just as he opened the door to the Love Me Office to look for his misplaced phone – which he found there. He did knock and just let himself in when he thought she was just on the phone talking to somebody.

She was still doing those impersonations of him, calling herself idiot. Dang it, they've known each other for more than a year now. She should at least know that he does not hang out with idiots. Of course, he thought of her that way before because of the circumstances that brought her to the doorstep of LME. But, as he got to know her longer – meaning better, he realized that she was intelligent, dedicated, strong and gentle at same time.

Maybe it was because of that? Maybe she didn't want to look troubled in front of him. Especially since her theatrics is one of the things he's harshly criticized her for.

Not that he had a problem with that, though. He was proud of the way she was carrying herself. Unlike him, who ended up looking indecisive and foolish with his whole I'm-doing-it-I'm-not-doing-it act before finally deciding to not tell Matsushima-san that he was dropping the movie. So uncool.

But somewhere at the back of his mind, he wondered if the happy look on Mogami-san's face was worth it. She didn't even ask any questions when he said that he'll do the movie. His manager however…

He frowned at the thought of the day he endured Yashiro-san with his large, sparkling eyes in attempts to imitate Mogami-san saying, "You just can't resist me, can you, Tsuruga-san?" It was one of the most disturbing things he's ever seen. He had two drinks after going home just to drown out the image.

He endured it, because there was no way in hell he'll ever admit the reason.

It's not that he simply just didn't want to play opposite her. And it's not like he really wanted to keep it a secret. But how can anyone explain that ever since Katsuki, bits and pieces of his true self have been leaking out? The same principles that made his one of the top actors in Japan are the same principles that kept anyone from knowing who and what he really was in the past. The roles he's picked since, have been purely motivated by his drive to challenge himself. But in order to do that, he let's things about his former self come out. Playing this role opposite her, would mean that more of his true feelings would leak out. And that would really scare her away.

His thoughts were interrupted when one of the assistants laid a folder in front of him, as Director Shingai announced, "Those are additional pages that were missed out during the printing and binding process… But don't worry. Those scenes won't be shot until a month from now so…"

* * *

"… there's really no reason to panic about learning those lines immediately," Director Shingai announced. "Now, I'll let Miya-chan announce the schedule for the publicity takes."

Kyoko gingerly picked up the folder.

Her role Chiaki is a carefree, devil-may-care high school girl, from a wealthy family, who was in love with her childhood friend, Satoshi, who she stopped being friends with after their parents made arrangements for an omiai (marriage interview) between them. She declined after she found out Satoshi didn't feel the same way. And now, she's a super serious business university student who is also taking on the burden of taking care of her family's failing family business, after her parents died in a plane crash. And, her older brother committed suicide after being unable to save the business from failing harder than their father left it.

After attending a friend's wedding, she encounters Satoshi who she was still in love with. She was being offered by his parents aid under the condition that she marries Satoshi. Of course, it's another one of those stories, about sending the wrong signals and misunderstandings between Chiaki and Satoshi. But, they'll end up being with each other in end anyway.

That was generally the gist of the story so anything else would probably be just details. As she scanned the pages, she nearly lost all the serene composure she's been projected all morning.

A-A kiss scene? Her head spun and she sucked in her breath and held it to prevent herself from getting hysterical.

She spent weeks preparing for this role!

Between school, Love Me-related tasks, Box 'R', Kimagure Rock, and helping out at the Daruma-ya, she'd thrown everything into Kismet! Sure, she was happy to be finally be playing the ojou-sama of her dreams, but that was the only thing that she didn't have a hardship of taking on. So many aspects of Chiaki's character are totally foreign to her so she spent her waking hours observing and studying everyone that passes by her – students in the regular classes, the office workers in LME, customers at the Daruma-ya – anyone that can qualify to as normal!

On her first pre-production meeting with Director Shingai, he specifically mentioned how much he was looking forward to working with her, and see how much she's grown as an actress. He confirmed what Kuu-otou-sama told her before about taking in roles like Natsu for people to see her range since her trendy, stylish image as Box "R''s lead villain suited the image of Chiaki. If not Natsu's evil ways. After that, he followed up with a litany of expectations that made him nothing like the gentle and kind man she met many months ago.

When the President said that this was some kind of test, she didn't know that she will be tested to her limit. But… she had to endure.

If she passes this test, she gets out of the Love Me Section. If, she does a good job in this movie, with all these big names that are surrounding her. She'll be recognized as a bona fide actress. If, the movie becomes a success, she'll be confident to know that she has what it takes, to finally defeat Shotaro. If she's unable to do it, she'll let a lot of people down – the President, Moko-san, the director, Kuu-otou-sama, the Ishibashi-onii-sans who threw her an impromptu party to celebrate her movie debut, and most of all…

She shifted on her hear and looked up at Tsuruga-san, who was staring back at her, the additional pages also in his hands.

W-what a stiff expression! She thought at Tsuruga-san's wide-eyed, expressionless face.

Oh right… the kiss scene was not only her problem. It was his, too. That's right… he's going to have to endure a kiss scene with someone he's disgusted with. That's it, isn't it, Tsuruga-san? That's the reason for that horrified look on his face, right? She was already as nervous as it is seeing him today because she wasn't sure she was able to nudge the doll under the table properly when he came looking for his mobile phone in the Love Me Office that time. If he has a problem with the kiss scene, he should come out and say something already to save them both the agony…

"To say 'I can't do it'… Wouldn't you say, that's too embarrassing to be spoken?"

The words of her beloved sensei floated through her head. That's right. She can't be a brat about this. She scolded herself with a mental shake. Of course, Even-if-a-parent-died-don't-drop-the-job-san over there won't complain. He's also living by the same principles of Kuu-otou-san. The proof there was when she scolded her for being a pain on her seventeenth birthday in the Dark Moon set.

She'll do it! Just as she knows Tsuruga-san will endure and not complain – he'll do it too. Because he was a pro. And she's one too!

So with all the acting experience and confidence that she can muster, she nonchalantly laid the script down onto the table and gave him a sweet, enthusiastic smile.

It's just acting anyway. Now what was with that downcast face and long sigh for, Tsuruga-san?

* * *

Kotonami Kanae paced the hallways of the LME Headquarters, cooling her head. Her face was still flushed as she bit on her fingernail.

"Moko-san?" a cheerful voice called out to her.

She turned at Kyoko's voice and saw her stepping out of the elevator with Tsuruga-san and his manager in the tow. Kyoko stopped and her eyes widened at the sight of her face and concerned filled her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" she exclaimed defensively. She wasn't going to tell her! No way in hell!

But Kyoko wasn't buying and walked up to her and pulled her a little farther away from the two guys and she moved her face closer to her. "What is it, Moko-san? Your face is flushed and you look like you're about to throw something. Is it…" Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes looked sad. "…something you can't tell me?"

Mo! Those eyes! Well, it was better than her cheerful housewife eyes. With great irritation, she grudgingly told her in a super low tone.

"Eh!?" Kyoko cried out in surprise and her eyes irritably turned sparkley. "Hio-kun kis–"

"Shut up!" Kanae slapped her hand over Kyoko's mouth. " Mo! You don't have to shout it." She turned to Tsuruga-san and Yashiro-san, her face red at the thought that they have heard.

When her hand loosened over, Kyoko smiled and continued her gushing. "That's so cute!"

"There's nothing cute about it!" she angrily retorted. "That brat–"

"He's already 12," she pointed out.

"Mo! He's 12!"

"Oh, don't tell me you still feel strange about that whole 6-year difference thing," she waved her hand. "He's just being cute and acting out his crush on you. Things like those won't matter the longer you get to know someone."

"Oh shut up!"

"You hear that, Ren?" Kanae turned to the direction of Yashiro-san grinning as he patted Tsuruga-san's shoulder. "Now you shouldn't have any problem with that whole kiss scene with Kyoko-chan," he continued, which earned him a deadpan look from Tsuruga-san.

Huh? Tsuruga-san is going to have a kiss scene with Kyoko? That guy doesn't only get to spend so much time her best friend that she's come to rely on him more than on her. Now he's gonna have to his hands on her, too? Well yeah, she kinda expected it since Kyoko is working on a romance. But she didn't need the fact, how little she sees and have her best friend rely on her, rubbed in her face.

"Hmph!" she crossed her arms and declared dictatorially. "Kyoko, let's go out and catch up."

"But I'm hitching a ride home with Tsuruga-san," Kyoko answered. "We only passed by here because he has to pick something up from Matsushima-san. It's on the way to his next job and I have to study for a make-up exam."

What? It's not enough that he gets to spend time with Kyoko during the shoot. It's not fair! Tsuruga-san already gets to spend more time with her. Just because they happen to work on the same project together. Now he even does mundane things to occupy her time like driving her home and things like that? The thought filled Kanae with indignation.

"B-but…" Tears immediately formed at the corner of Kanae's eyes and she stammered. "W-we haven't seen each other in almost th-three weeks. I r-really wanted to spend time with you."

"Moko-san…"

Tears were gathering on her eyelids. "I-it's the start of the month so I thought it would be nice i-if we get to share a s-sampler of the new f-flavors at the ice cream shop."

Kanae saw Kyoko's eyes sparkle and her mouth open slightly to coo. In a heartbeat, she turned to Tsuruga-san and bowed. "I'm sorry, Tsuruga-san. It's very kind for you to offer me a ride home, but I think I'll go out with Moko-san before heading home. I'll see tomorrow at the photoshoot."

She won! The tears Kanae can command at will immediately disappeared and she grinned wickedly.

"No problem," Tsuruga-san smiled. Kanae was kind of annoyed at how lightly he was taking it. She won, damn it! "I'll see you tomorrow."

And with one final bow, Kyoko turned to her and smiled, "Let's go, Moko-san!"

Oh well, she still won. Kanae smiled happily and nodded, "Let's!"

"Yaaaaay~!" Kyoko-chan gushed as the pair walked away. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

She linked her arm to Kotonami-san's who instantly recoiled. "Mo! Would you not hang around me like a dumb monkey?"

"Ren," Yukihito asked as he just stared at the girls. "Did you ever do anything to Kotonami-san that made her antagonistic towards you?"

"Not that I know of," Ren answered. "Apart from bumping into her here from time to time, I don't really see her at all."

"Well, that's true." She is one of the people Ren has never worked with. "What a strange friendship those two girls have," Yukihito said as Kyoko-chan just laughed off the harsh-toned rejection Kotonami-san shouted as the two girls turned the corner of the hallway.

"But," Ren smiled cheerfully. "She's having fun, isn't she?"

* * *

Fuwa Sho didn't know how he got into this situation. He was just loitering around Akatoki Agency while Shoko-san was with the music department head about his projects. Now, he was standing stiffly and shirt was getting wet with Pocchiri's tears.

"I t-told my ma-manager that if they were going to make a movie off that b-book, I wanted to s-star in it," she hiccuped. "So s-she said that she w-would look into it."

Funny, he didn't even know that Pocchiri knew how to read. But then again, she is an actress. But he can never stand seeing a girl cry. He patted her head. "There, there," he said detachedly. "It's alright."

Then she cried out some more. "Now I have to lose a book I really like to that mousy girl from the Prisoner shoot!"

"What?" He quickly looked down at her. "She has the lead?"

"It's not that I want to co-star with that peanut-brain Tsuruga Ren," she added. "I just really liked that book." Then she proceeded to crying some more, pounding his chest.

"She's acting along side Tsuruga Ren?" Shou asked, bewildered.

Pocchiri nodded wordlessly, burying her face on his chest. "E-everyo-one in school is t-talking about i-it. Th-they said t-hat she was h-handp-picked b-by the director for it."

This is the worst…!

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- PG-12 is the movie rating for Japan for something with a kissing scene. I decided to go with it against the more popular ratings system using American standards.

- And please don't expect something some kind of a complicated plot for the movie. I just wanted to write a story where Ren and Kyoko will end up starring in the same movie together. By the time I started writing this fanfic, I really did not plan out the plot. But I intended to make this fanfic more Ren and Kyoko-centric, not a movie plot-centric. But because the premise of the fic is to have them be in a movie together, there are going to be scenes. However, I plan to make the story more behind-the-scenes than in-scene.

- And the whole thing about Kanae being kissed by Hiou is purely plot device-y. Just something fun for her until the next time we see her since the next couple of chapters will be dedicated to the movie. ^^

- If anyone's still reading this, Chapter 4 should be up late this week or early next week. See you then o/


	4. Chapter 4: Ren's Tentekomai

**Chapter Four:**

**Reading Notes:** The point-of-view of the characters in the movie will be written as 'Satoshi' or 'Chiaki'. When either of them breaks out of character, it will shift to 'Ren' or 'Kyoko'.

**Acknowledgments: **Thanks to Bloody Rose for beta-reading. I know you're suffering but it's just a million chapters to go ^^

Disclaimers do apply.

* * *

It was already nine in the evening almost three weeks later. The hallways of LME were nearly empty except for scattered employees who were working overtime meeting deadlines. But Shingai Seiji's business there was just about to begin.

"Good evening, Director Shingai," a man in court attire bowed to him as he stepped into the President's lobby. "The President's waiting for you."

He followed him to the enormous, heavily decorated office of Takarada Lory.

The décor was both impressive and oppressive at the same time. The place simply represented the power of the man who sat on an Edwardian chair by the windows. That's right, the man who still had a childlike tendency to cosplay is so powerful that he was able to make and break careers in Japan's entertainment industry. Nearly no one dared cross him.

And even at this very moment, he didn't want to. He didn't want to do it when he had grudgingly accepted Matsunai Ruriko for Ring Doh. He didn't want to do it now.

But, Seiji took in a deep breath, he was the one who had called for this meeting. If he just let things go as they were…

The man had a grim expression on his face and Seiji foresaw a dreadful future. Maybe this was not the right time to have this meeting…?

But his presence was made known and the President turned and smiled, "Ah, Shingai-kun. I've been waiting for you."

"Good evening, President Takarada," he bowed.

"Please," the president gestured to the chair across from him. "Have a seat."

"Thank you," Seiji said as he walked to the chair. When he sat down, he gave another bow. "I apologize for calling for this meeting on such short notice."

"No problem," he smiled. His mood seemed to have changed. Nothing like the one he'd seen when he'd entered. This could be a very volatile situation. As the servant set a cup of tea in front of him, the President continued talking. "I was thinking just now where I could find a man of vision amidst this pack of unimaginative bores I've been surrounding myself with to help me solve a problem I've been having these last few months. You're just the man for the job."

"Eh?" Seiji swallowed. This was not how he'd wanted to start the meeting. Compliments like that…

"I need your help solving a little puzzle for me."

"O-of course."

"So, can you tell me…" Seiji held his breath. "If you were a sick boy who hadn't come to school in three days, when a girl visits to check up on you, would you like her to: a.) kiss you, b.) play with your hair or c.) pinch your nose."

"Eh?" Seiji's head suddenly blanked. What is he talking about?

"Well?"

Still confused at the direction that the conversation had taken, Seiji just said the first time that came to mind. "If it's something like that, shouldn't the girl offer to feed me something she brought with her or prepare something to eat for me?"

The President gave him a long look and Seiichi nervously thought he did something wrong. "By god, man. You're right! It's so simple and logical! I know many men who would fall in love with a woman who can cook well." Then his face broke into a wide. "Shingai-kun, you're genius! No wonder that boy always leaves the girl in the end. It's all a trap! There's no one who can break through Seiichi's stubborn heart!"

"Seiichi?"

"Well then," the President suddenly turned serious on him. Really… the moods of this man… "How is Kismet? Is Mogami-kun…?"

"Kyoko-chan is a joy to work with!" Seiji said almost immediately. "Intelligent, reflective, professional, diligent, gets along with the cast well… and very dedicated to the project. I couldn't ask for a better female lead."

But the President saw right through him. He puffed out smoke from his cigar. "But…?"

Seiji sighed. It was now or never…. The perfectionist in him demanded that the full truth be told so that necessary action could be taken. Troublesome people had to be dealt with accordingly. No matter who they were. If the vision he had for this movie was to be realized, it had to be done. And it had to be done now.

"However…"

* * *

The garden of one of the grandest homes in the most affluent part of Tokyo was bursting with activity. Satoshi scanned the place and spotted a ball of white in the form of one of his best friends in high school, Yumemi, as she sat in one corner of the garden with some common friends.

"Hey," he overheard Yumemi say as she smoothed the skirt of her gown. "So you guys remember that time we were in junior high and our parents took us to Osaka and we wandered around by ourselves and got lost?" The same as always… always talking in such a loud voice to get people's attention.

And then, he saw her… A girl he hadn't seen since graduating high school. He did see her during the wedding ceremony when she'd served as Yumemi's maid-of-honor. But she was stiff and serious the whole time since most of them were unfamiliar with the complete Western-style ceremony since the groom happened to be a Westerner. Now, she looked relaxed. A cheery smile danced on her lips – kinda reminded him of high school – as she exclaimed, "Yeah! We got so hungry but didn't have enough money on us so we ended up in that commoner okonomiyaki place. I can't remember the name of the place though…" She tapped her finger onto her mouth.

"Okonomiyaki-ya Tentekomai," he stepped forward and answered.

"That's right!" Chiaki exclaimed as she turned to him and her lips… quivered? "Okonomiyaki-ya Tentekomai! That's the pl-pfft~!" And Mogami-san dissolved in giggles.

"CUT!" Director Shingai picked up his microphone and called out, "Kyoko-chan! This is the first time Chiaki and Satoshi will be speaking to each other cutting off ties with each other. Your face has been all wrong since seeing Satoshi's face."

Mogami-san instantly sobered up and stood up. With her face red, she bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry! It's my fault. I got distracted! It's not going to happen again."

"Alright," Director Shingai sighed. "Five minutes. Calm yourself down."

"Yes!' she cried out.

"Director, since we're on a break, can I go to the bathroom," the half-Japanese, half-British actor who plays Vincent the groom announced.

"OK, ten minutes," the director nodded his permission. "Hair and make-up! Please do something about those crystal hairpins just above Chiaki's right ear. There's too much sun out and the glare might be terrible for the take."

"Alright!"

It'd been a week and a half since shooting for Kismet had started. And Ren had easily fallen back into the routine of regularly seeing Mogami-san at one of his projects again. But he only stayed for several hours for several days a week, being busy with other work and all. Unlike her who stayed more hours and more days since most of the story was told from her point of view so she had more scenes to shoot.

She hung out with him whenever he was on set. But unlike Dark Moon where the cast was split with people their age to middle-aged ones who were already established thespians with busy schedules, most of the cast of Kismet were in their late teens and early twenties who were relative newbies like her so she'd made friends with a lot of them.

Ren walked over to Satoshi's friends and overheard Oohara-san, who was playing the bride Yumemi, ask, "What's so funny about Okonomiyaki-ya Tentekomai? It's a very famous place in Osaka."

"Yeah," the actor who plays Akito said as he leaned back his chair. "I had a shoot in Osaka once and they had the best okonomiyaki I've ever tasted."

"Yeah sorry," Mogami-san grinned guiltily for her blunder. "I suddenly had this vision of dancing okonomiyakis in my head when Tsuruga-san said it."

"Dancing okonomiyakis?" Curious but not really interested, he sat down on the chair that was set up for him once he entered the scene. He noticed her stiffen when she heard his voice. Probably waiting for a lecture for getting an NG, he thought. "Sounds like a weird story. Tell us about it"

"Eh?" She gave him a horrified look and looked away. "I-it's not really that funny. It's just one of those things where you had to be ther–" She froze stiff and looked like panicked, which Ren would have found suspicious if he never commented just to join in the conversation.

"Oh well," Oohara-san shrugged. "You probably just met a foreigner who doesn't know what an okonomiyaki is."

Or tentekomai, Ren mentally added but it didn't speak out, remembering the embarrassment he felt when he'd had to rely on a guy in a chicken suit to explain to him what the word meant when he mistook it for a form of dance. Come to think of it, Bo pretty much had the same reaction as Mogami-san did. Some people were just so merciless when it came to those kinds of things. He never laughed when they threw a Happy Grateful Party.

"So how's my ex-fiancé doing?" Oohara-san jokingly asked. Of course, Oohara-san didn't look anything like Misao from Dark Moon. The long hair that was once curled at the ends was now cut short and lightened to a light brown. Also, the temperamental demeanor was now cheerier to suit her role of Yumemi. "You really took me by surprise, Tsuruga-kun. That serial killer movie you were in sent chills down my spine. I didn't even figure out it was you until someone pointed it out to me since you weren't in the credits."

Ren only smiled good-naturedly, neither confirming nor denying her his involvement in that movie. "You've been busy too, Oohara-san. You mentioned before the end of Dark Moon that you'll be in a new drama."

"Yup, it'll premiere next season," she smiled. "But you… I thought you would have moved on to more serious roles now."

"I thought so too," Mogami-san interjected, looking up at him. "I was really surprised that you took Kismet."

"Well, I did take on other roles other than this one," he recited the explanation that he gave Yashiro-san before with a smile. "You can't just move on to the next genre and discard the previous one. If I just keep picking out those types of roles, when I end up getting interested in something related to my former genre, I might end up getting stuck."

"Ugh! You're too much in a different stratosphere than us, Tsuruga-kun," Oohara-san extended her hand to build an imaginary wall between them. "You get to pick out from too wide a range of roles." She sighed. "You're not even going to be here next week."

"Yeah," he answered sheepishly. "One of the dramas I'm working on will be shooting on location in Yokohama."

"And you'll be back on Monday, right?' Mogami-san asked. He nodded.

"Ooh!" Oohara-san teasingly said.

"Just in time for the hot stuff!" 'Akito' guffawed. Ren shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Ren!" Yashiro-san called out. "There's been some changes with your schedule for later so I need to run it by you."

He nodded and excused himself from the three who were chatting away.

"And we'll finally get to witness Kyoko-chan fall for The Co-Star Killer's charm," Ren overhead. He cringed a little at the mention of the title he'd been given a long time ago in actors' circles.

Mogami-san laughed. "Really now? Whatever it is, it's just between Satoshi and Chiaki. No matter how realistic Tsuruga-san's acting is, it's still just acting. There's nothing real about it so no need to get carried away by it after the scene's finished."

Nothing real?

That's right…. No matter how realistic both his and Mogami-san's acting were, there was no need to get carried away by it. So far, the scenes that they'd been shooting were only times when Chiaki and Satoshi were old high school friends who'd seen each other after two years of no contact. When he came back in week's time, the more romantic scenes between Chiaki and Satoshi would be shot.

"Wow…" the actor who played Akito smiled. "Kyoko-chan, you seem to be pretty cool about it."

Even if the timing was right and he was willing to, he had absolutely no intention of using acting to pursue anyone romantically. He had already mastered the ability to separate his public life from his carefully guarded private life, earning him the name 'boring man' from the President.

And he was quite surprised about Mogami-san's nonchalant, professional attitude towards circumstances that they would end up in. If she was panicky about the whole thing, she would have turned to him and told him all of her worries and he wouldn't have had a clue on how to console her. Deep inside him, he didn't know what to do with when the scenes between them started. But it's nothing he'd never done before so he was still pretty confident about it.

He should just… emulate her.

But he missed the panicky Mogami-san who would turn to him and tell him all of her worries. Just a little.

* * *

"You boys haven't changed a bit," Yumemi giggled. Then burst out laughing when she spilled wine on the floor.

"Neither have you," Akito laughed. "Only you're drunk right now."

"But you know who's changed? Chiaki," Satoshi leaned back against the pillar, his leg hung low as he sat on the railing of the gazebo. "It's rude to leave a wedding party before the bride and groom do. Especially, if it's the first time in a while you've seen your old friends."

"Can't be helped, right?" Akito shrugged. "She has a business meeting with some firm."

"Meeting?" Satoshi turned with an astonished look on his face. "Hiro-nii must be out of his mind to do that – letting his sister conduct business meetings. Chiaki's not the office girl type." He sniggered.

Yumemi and Akito exchanged nervous glances. "Satoshi-kun, you didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"Good… that's the look I'm looking for," Director Shingai murmured as Yumemi and Akito informed Satoshi about the fate of Chiaki's family.

Kyoko, who was standing right behind Director Shingai, turned to the three actors on the gazebo. They were all established actors who became popular right after their debut. It made her wonder what her fate will be after this.

She actually thought that because she got this role, she would be free of all her bully roles. But that wasn't the case… In a meeting with Sawara-san, she still got a couple of offers for villain roles. She thought it was only because Kismet hadn't premiered yet so no one knows. And she couldn't remain stagnant until that happens, according to Sawara-san, so she really should choose something.

So how long will it take before she could finally tell herself that she's already on top and will be able to defeat Shotaro? Tsuruga-san has several offers for various roles and genres and can take his pick while she was here because it was assigned to her as a Love Me assignment.

"Watch them carefully, Kyoko-chan," Director Shingai whispered to her. "I'm expecting these kinds of things from you too."

She turned her attention back to them. It wasn't not fair that she be compared to them... they're all established actors. As long as she was in the Love Me Section, she's just a talento.

She knew that she'd had a couple of setbacks for this first week of shooting. She had a couple of NGs for minor reasons, Director Shingai had always been gentle at handling her, telling her to watch and observe the actors while they do a scene that doesn't involve her.

Maybe he'd already seen right through her. The confidence she had was only to cover the fact that she hadn't completely prepared for the character. Ugh… this was frustrating. She wished that he would just scold her or something, even if it was in front of the other actors. Each take cost money and takes up time so if she's getting a NG, he should just shout at her so she could correct whatever she's doing wrong. Even the one person she's relying on wasn't using his sharp word knife to cut her into pieces.

Why not? If she wasn't getting complaints, she should be doing a good job, but why doesn't it feel that way?

"Sounds like everything's going smoothly," President Takarada commented. "I don't see anything wrong with momentary lapses. It does happen. I'd call you too strict if you expect everything in just one take. There's a big difference if the problem is between that and failing to get into character."

"Well," Director Shingai sighed. "That's true… Whenever we play the scenes with the friends, everything is practically done to perfection with only one take. But when the one-on-one scenes between Satoshi and Chiaki started…"

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- This is a boring chapter. This was originally a 5,500 word chapter but even I felt that it was too long ^^ so I moved parts of chapter 4 and placed it in chapter 5, causing a chain reaction of rehauling my completed summary to make events per chapter make sense - which I placed somewhere in lala-land. But I'm trying to establish Kyoko's insecurity when it comes to acting. But things are really, REALLY going to pick up by next chapter. That should be up in a couple of days depending on my beta-reader.

- Okonomiyaki-ya Tentekomai is an actual okonomiyaki shop in Osaka. No, I have never been there, but I googled it and somehow found it.

- If you don't know what tentekomai means in the Skip Beat! context, are you even a fan of the series? This is an important word!


	5. Chapter 5: Kyoko's Sekuhara

**Chapter Five:**

**Reading Notes: **The point-of-view of the characters in the movie will be written as 'Satoshi' or 'Chiaki'. When either of them breaks out of character, it will shift to 'Ren' or 'Kyoko'.

**Acknowledgments: **Bloody_Rose021, for beta-reading. Get well soon!

**Yes, disclaimer!**

* * *

What did that asshole mean by that? Fuwa Sho thought, insulted at the president of Akatoki Agency laughing at him when he expressed his interest in appearing in a movie for once, specifically that Shingai movie whatever-the-title-is-or-something. Kismet.

"Appearing? Kismet? You mean, some kind of involvement? I can contact their Musical Director and check if they're interested in having you write for the soundtrack."

"No! No!" Sho's eyes widened at the disgusting notion of writing some crap love theme for Kyoko and that idiot Tsuruga. "I mean, something in terms of an appearance or acting or whatever, I don't care," he finished with a mumble.

"You want to act?" that ass laughed. "Sho, you do realize that you're a singer, right?"

"Well, yeah…" he shrugged, feigning disinterest. "I thought that it'd be nice to do something else. Whatever."

"Sho," the man sobered up and sat back in his chair. "Most of the producers and directors for your PVs often mentioned how hard it was to work with you because, you heavily rely on direction. Now you want to act? It's not unusual to crossover, but you can't. Just now, your own disinterested attitude towards acting doesn't seem like you even want to do it. So why should I let you?"

Shocked at the reaction of a man who always let him follow his whims, he turned. "But…"

"Enough of this." The guy waved his hand at him. "No more weird requests. We'll explore that in the future after we get you into acting classes or training."

"No thanks, no longer interested."

"Besides, that movie is already in the works. Casting is done. I'm annoyed that we didn't get enough of our talents and actors in that thing. And you'll never pass Shingai-kun's assessment with your level right now. He's a strict director with no patience for novice actors. Get over it and focus on your expertise. Your genius is for music. Aren't you interested in it anymore?"

"Of course I am!"

"Good. Then we're back on track."

'Bastard!' He huffed. Laughing at him for that. This was really important. Right now, that pretty boy would be putting the moves on his woman, seducing her with his weird pheromone thing. The only thing that he was really counting on was Kyoko's denseness to see through the likes of Tsuruga Ren.

He waved at some people he knew from the Talent Department and continued on his way to the Music Department where he promised to meet Shoko to get to his next appearance.

"You're in Kismet?" one of the girls gushed.

"Just as a recurring extra," the guy answered. "You can't believe what a hound Shingai is!"

"But it's still slated to be one of the biggest love-romances of the year! Lucky… You even get to see Tsuruga Ren everyday."

"I'm not particularly interested in guys you know," he laughed. "What the hell would I care about Tsuruga Ren? But the female lead… Kyoko?"

Sho stopped at the mention of her name.

The guy continued. "She's reeeeeeally cute and very sweet. Nothing like Mio from Dark Moon or Natsu from Box 'R'. Kinda aloof though. She doesn't really hang around anyone other than Tsuruga-san. Sometimes with Oohara-san, but mostly with him. It looks like they're pretty close."

"Well, it's not that unusual… The male and female lead constantly in each other's company?"

Sho stopped and balled his fists tightly. Kyoko's the one who's been hanging out with him? Kyoko's not like that. Knowing what he'd seen back in Karuizawa, he's the one who's been fencing her.

"It's kinda like dating, building a relationship and stuff. But people who are in the movie who were also in Dark Moon also said that they were always together, so it's nothing unusual."

"Sho!"

He raised his head and saw Shoko running towards him. "What is it?"

"Big news!" she smiled widely. "I just came from the music department and had to look for you."

She moved closer and whispered in his ear. Sho's eyes widened at the big deal name that she'd just mentioned, making him forget the whole Kismet thing. "That big deal musical executive?"

"Yes! He wants to meet you tomorrow when he gets here and have a lunch meeting in his suite at the Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel!"

Sho was pretty excited about the prospect that some important musical executive wanted to produce his next album. He was psyched! The man was a legend. As long as that all-looks-no-brains Tsuruga kept his hands off his woman, he could see to this thing as something too incredible not to feel excitement about.

* * *

But, Tsuruga Ren did have his hands on her right now. But somehow…

"CUT! Tsuruga-kun… You're too awkward! This is a tender moment between Satoshi and Chiaki," Director Shingai. "There's some awkwardness but that's only because this is the first time they've touched each other outside the context of being friends. But there is no hesitation whatever on Satoshi's part."

"OK," Tsuruga-san nodded.

This was the first time in a long time that Tsuruga-san has had a long line of NGs. He must be tired, she thought. A week had passed. Kyoko had been working on Kismet on top of her other work while Tsuruga-san was in Yokohama on his on-location shoot. He only arrived late last night and the assembly time for today was 6 AM. Even if Tsuruga-san was the type who could live on just an hour's sleep, considering that the drama he worked on in Yokohama involved stunts, plus travel time, anyone would be tired. "Um…" she looked up at him and tried to be cheerful. "Let's try our best, ok? Tsuruga-san?"

And he sighed, nodding. "Sorry, Mogami-san."

That was probably the hundredth sigh he's let out since this morning and she was starting to feel uncomfortable about it. The fact that this had been the seventh time he'd apologized after being called for a NG didn't help either.

"Let's try this again," Director Shingai called, his forehead wrinkling. And then, there's this demon of a director who's been moody all morning, calling NG after NG. At first, it'd been only with Tsuruga-san, but later he'd been calling NGs on her too.

She was trying her best too. But after each take, she was starting to feel her composure slip. What was wrong with her? She should be able to throw away one NG and just concentrate on the present take. But repeating scene after scene five to six times, she was starting to lose her confidence.

Maybe it was because… she wasn't doing it right? Oh no! She might have been dragging Tsuruga-san down with her lousy interpretation of that worthless emotion called love that he wasn't responding how he should be.

"OK… Action!"

Chiaki walked over and looked down on the lowest row of shelves and looked at Satoshi through the window. "I'm sure it's here somewhere." She bent down and ran her finger through her DVD collection. "I had a friend convert it to DVD for me a couple of years ago." She laughed. "You became really popular with the girls after that play for the school festival."

"It's not exactly one of the things I wanted to be known for," Satoshi answered from the couch. His tone was full of dread.

"That's right! You wanted to be an architect," she turned her head slightly towards him, then turned back to her DVDs. "But you know what? I would have been happy whatever you turned out to be."

"Because we're friends?"

"Well, yes," she said. "And… not that it matters anymore, but I used to have a big crush on you. You see…" She ran her finger through the DVD case spines, not really looking at the titles. "There was a time when we were in our last year in high school when I thought I was in love with you. But, that was a long time ago anyway." Then her finger stopped at the slightly dusty, years-since-it's-been-watched DVD. "Ah! Found it!" she exclaimed. Chiaki smiled at the artfully tossed around collage of pictures she'd made as a cover as she stood up.

From the window, she was startled to see Satoshi standing right behind her. Strange, she didn't even hear him move. "Satoshi-ku–"

And then Kyoko felt it again… the minute pause when Satoshi's arms moved to wrap around her waist. This time, Kyoko thought. His actions were wooden.

"CUT!" Director Shingai called out. "Let's take a 15-minute break, everyone. Tsuruga-kun, a word please."

And before Tsuruga-san could let out another sigh, she beat him to it.

* * *

It was not totally unwelcome.

Every director has a specific vision as to what direction they want a film to move in. As an actor, it was his job to see that vision be realized. So it wasn't so bad to have to take direction once in a while.

"Tsuruga-kun," Director Shingai said. "Look at Kyoko-chan." Involuntarily, his eyes turned to her as she sat on her chair, drinking water. "Imagine that this is the first and only girl you've ever loved. Right now, she just admitted to you that she loved you too. You're alone in her apartment where she is vulnerable and totally at your mercy. What are you going to do?"

Ren just let his eyes rest on Mogami-san as she stretched.

He didn't need to imagine anything. Yeah… he knows what he's going to do.

There was something strange about the way Satoshi wrapped his arms around her.

For one thing, unlike the previous take where his hands were balled into fists, Satoshi unhesitatingly wrapped his arms around her, but kept his hands open and rested them on her waist.

"You did?" he asked, resting his chin on top of her head.

"J-just a little," Chiaki whispered in a loud whisper.

Chiaki felt Satoshi's strong arms tighten around her waist and Kyoko oddly felt his fingertips brush against the underside of her breast as Satoshi practically wrapped himself around her.

Chiaki looked up to meet Satoshi's eyes through the window and froze.

She knew those eyes! They're definitely not Satoshi's, but they're not Tsuruga-san's either! Those mischievous eyes that twinkled with evil intentions… She was looking into the eyes of The Emperor of the Night!

"N-Nnnn-Nyaaaaaa~!" she shrieked, sharply elbowing The Emperor's ribcage as she stumbled to get away.

* * *

"I was just harassed, wasn't I?" she muttered to herself over and over again as she huddled on a chair beside Yashiro Yukihito. "I was just sexually harassed."

"No!" Yukihito tried to comfort the actress as everyone moved out when Director Shingai called for an early lunch. "That's not true, Kyoko-chan!"

"Well, I guess it wouldn't count since I almost qualify as flat-chested being an A-cup and all," she drawled in a low, dragging voice as though it was echoing from hell. "But I still feel so violated."

Ren, that idiot! Yukihito mentally scolded the actor as he watched him having a word with the director at the other end of the studio lot. Director Shingai called for an early lunch in a frustrated tone of voice and pulled Ren aside.

When Director Shingai was giving him direction about the mood of the scene, he thought that it was the wrong kind of scenario to present to him. After all, this was a guy who'd had Kyoko-chan over at his place three times and hadn't so much as laid a finger on her. But he wasn't expecting that kind of reaction from him!

And now, Kyoko-chan was curled up on a chair beside him, probably thinking up reasons to despise him.

"Kyoko-chan… Ren…" Yukihito tried to think up of a reason. "Ren's very stressed right now. That's right!" She turned to him. "You know that he has another movie and two dramas on top of other things that he's been working on. He hasn't had a day-off since last month." Or me for that matter, he mentally added.

"So what?" Kyoko glared at him. "I'm still working on Box 'R', some CMs, my Love Me duties, and school. The last day-off I've had was two weeks ago, but you don't see me doing creepy things like that…"

Her argument was irrefutable. And Yukihito was kind of annoyed that the logical Kyoko-chan appeared when he didn't need it. And Ren had been able to function well under more stressful circumstances.

"And why am I even talking to you?" She gave him a suspicious look and edged away on the chair. "You're his manager. So you know what they say about shared traits between people who get along..."

What!? Now he's even being accused of being a pervert too?

In an attempt to save Ren and his own reputation from this very, very impressionable girl, he said the only thing he could think of that never failed to rile this girl up when it comes to Ren. "Yeeeeah… Ah! But you see, Ren, hasn't been eating well."

Of course, Ren's lack of food intake got her attention, but her expression was still far from accepting it as an explanation.

"Y-you know how it's like, right, Kyoko-chan?" Yukihito asked. "You always have your three square meals because you wither out if you don't." Then inspiration struck him and he continued. "Ren's the same, even if just eats things that are considered junk. Any person would start acting strangely if you don't have anything in your stomach! And the result of that for him would be that he loses his concentration."

At the first sight of interest in her eyes, Yukihito continued, "It's like that… Of course, being called for an NG would mean that something's not right so he's just changing how he approaches the scene." Well, he didn't know if that was necessarily true in Ren's case. But it would be very difficult if this girl ended up hating Ren. This was a girl who vowed revenge on someone for dumping her after treating her like a slave.

Then Yukihito saw the first signs of emotions going through Kyoko-chan's eyes as she turned to the side in deep thought. He continued, a just-made-up plot brewing in his head. "I think, you should just have lunch with him and talk the stress out."

* * *

Ren let out a sigh of frustration as he sat on the chair in his dressing room, Director Shingai's words still swimming in his head…

"I was really excited to work with you and Kyoko-chan because I liked the way you two interacted in Ring Doh. I've seen her work after that and know that she's a versatile actress. Just like you. Considering that you took her under your wing afterwards, your familiarity with each other should have made this easier."

Whatever happened to him? Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have tolerated such a sloppy performance from himself.

And why? All because a 17-year old girl was telling him things that she would never normally say. For some reason, every time she would deliver a line or do something that could be considered predictable because it was written in the script, he would always end up giving a momentary pause, telling himself that what she was saying and doing was not real and that she was only acting. And her elbow is really sharp.

He sighed, resting his elbows on his knees and his forehead in his hands. Whatever happened to his work ethic? Under normal circumstances, he would never do something like that. This was supposed to be his least stressful project. Of course, he forgot that thing about what the President once told him. About how the way he acts out love is too fake. Too fake? In the genre that made him popular? That was unacceptable. Adding on the fact that his co-star happened to be Mogami-san made it much more challenging.

He'd get through this. He'd done much more difficult roles than this. Compared to BJ, this was a walk in the park. This was just a lapse-

"Tsuuuu-ruuuuga-saaaaan..."

The tone that seemed to have come from the deepest pits of hell called out to him from the open door. He lifted his head and was visibly startled to find Mogami-san with a look of murderous intent. Oh crap... he forgot about that last take.

"Mo-Mogami-" he started, fully intending to apologize.

But she didn't let him talk, and for the first time, he noticed that she was holding two bento boxes in her hands and cradling bottles of water and tea in her arms. "Now whoever said that you could skip lunch?"

* * *

**Chapter Notes:  
**  
- This is as far as I can go without having to make the chapter overly long again.

- So... to everyone who's expecting Sho to be the movie. Boo-hoo... wrong! ^^ With Shingai as director... I don't think so! Besides, he's not going to be able to act at the same level as Ren and Kyoko so why should he? As far as I can tell, Sho is a great singer. He did say that he has taken some acting lessons when he did the Prisoner PV, but he says he's a beginner. I always considered him as a musician rather than an actor.

- Anyway, Chapter 6 will be up, hopefully, by this weekend. I got kinda stuck with the next chapter (Ren and Kyoko have lunch ...after that.)

- Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed. And I really appreciate those who placed me on their story/author alerts, but I'd rather get feedback on the story since I wanna know if I'm still going on the right track or if I'm already heading for outer space here. Anyway, until then... 0/


	6. Chapter 6: Ren's Dumped

**Chapter Six:**

**Dedications: **This chapter is for **mouseter **but only because after all the comments I received in all the stories I've ever put out for Skip Beat!, I finally got one from someone who lives in the same place as I do.

**Acknowledgments:** Bloody_Rose021, my beta-reader. I think your eyes still bled beta-reading this chapter ^^;;; Thanks as always!

**Disclaimer: **Applied. Most especially for this chapter.

**Reading Note: **This chapter is bordering on OOC but I hope that it may explain things by the next two chapters. I do think it is necessary for character and story development.

* * *

Takarada Lory let out a sputtered laugh. "Mogami-kun did that?"

"Yes," Shingai-kun let out a sigh. "Although she wasn't complaining, she was clearly uncomfortable with Tsuruga-kun after that. Although it seemed really funny to an outsider, she had a hard time calming down. That really set us back a couple of scenes. The entire morning was wasted. I just called for an early lunch hoping it would calm her down."

Lory disguised his amusement with another puff of his cigar. A perfectionist like Shingai-kun would obviously despair about it. But it was really funny. Clearly, this just added on to the confirmation of the conclusion he made long ago: Ren was an idiot when it came to understanding a woman's heart.

"I'm the first one to admit," he continued. "Kyoko-chan is a real trooper. She actually faced the problem head-on and had lunch with Tsuruga-kun in his dressing room. But then again, it's already expected with someone who would endure sitting down seiza with a fractured ankle just to prove her point."

"And? What happened after that?"

"I thought the problem would be resolved," Shingai-kun said. "I don't really know what happened or what they talked about over lunch but..."

* * *

Kyoko intimidated Tsuruga-san by staring him down until he took his first bite from the lunch box one of the staff handed her. She brought them to his dressing room with intentions of force-feeding him if he was going to be difficult. He should already know better, she thought as she gave her own lunch her attention. There was no way he could weasel his way out of not eating with her around. And she said so, ending up giving him a stern lecture about his blatant disregard for his health.

Of course, that wasn't how she envisioned things to happen. Shouting at her senpai was nowhere near the opening she needed.

She really didn't understand Yashiro-san's insistence for having her eat lunch with him. He said that it was to take the stress out, but he wasn't going to talk to her about it. Not to a female kouhai who's still a talento. It didn't work back in Dark Moon, and it wasn't going to work now. So again, she came to the same conclusion that the purpose was to have Tsuruga-san bully her to make himself feel better.

Funny, she thought Yashiro-san liked her. Obviously not enough since he was willing to throw her into the den of the Demon Lord himself just because he's stressed out.

But she knew she had to go because she was the reason for his stress. She intended to apologize for it, but, of course, it started out on the wrong foot.

She looked up at him and gauged his mood when she caught him putting his eating utensils down. She frowned. "Tsuruga-san, if the food's not to your liking, just imagine that it's your mother's home cooking because you're still eating it no matter what."

She was surprised when he grimaced. "Yeah… that really whets my appetite," he said somberly. "You could have just asked me to imagine your cooking and I would have been fine."

"Eh…?" Maybe he doesn't have good memories? He doesn't really talk about himself after all. But he didn't seem like the type to have had a bad family life. "I'm sorry… Maybe I reminded you of something bad?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her. "No… let's just say that my mother doesn't really cook food for all tastes." He took in another mouthful of rice – a sign that he's not willing to discuss it. Oh well, whatever it was, it was none of her business.

Damn it! She just lost her chance to apologize again! Must. Start. Over.

"Mogami-san…"

"Yes?" she said stiffly.

"About earlier…" Here it comes! This was her chance. Of course, she has to go through a good stinging, merciless lecture, Tsuruga Ren-style first. She thought as she braced herself. "I went too far. I'm sorry."

"Huh?'

"I…" He looked… ashamed? "I shouldn't have done that. So I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault," she said, refusing to meet his eyes. He didn't really need to go that far to prove his point and get her to act though. That didn't encourage her to act, it only scared her to near-death. It didn't make Satoshi endearing, it just made him a pain to female eyes. "It's actually nothing more than what I deserve."

* * *

"What?" Ren was confused. For a second, he thought he heard her blame herself for being subjected to unwanted advances. If she did, he wanted nothing more than to immediately correct that kind of notion. "Mogami-san, do you understa-"

"I understand," she interrupted, looking trite. "You see… I'm the one who needs to apologize."

Ren was just plain lost. "For what? Mogami-san, you really don't un-"

"I accepted the role because technically, I didn't have any choice," she continued. She wasn't listening to him. "But I got really excited when I found out that you were going to be in it." She met his eyes. "I thought that this would be my chance to show you that I've grown as an actress because the things that I've learned, I learned because of you. So I got it my head that I could be someone who could match up with you in terms of acting. But obviously, I'm not. You really saw right through me, didn't you?"

"Pardon?" Are they still talking about the same thing?

"Tsuruga-san," She met his eyes. "You changed your acting because I was doing something wrong, didn't you?"

"What do you mean…?" He was really at a loss for anything to say. That last take had nothing to do with acting!

"I don't know if you were trying to teach me a lesson for having the reckless attitude of being too confident and being unable to deliver," she reasoned without making much sense to him. "After all, you're the type of actor who already knows how to act out your character once you've understood them. So it must be a pain that you have to change it just because of me."

OK, he just felt worse now than how he felt a couple of minutes ago when he realized just what he'd done to her. She didn't do anything wrong with any of the scenes and now she was torturing herself with self-doubt. And here he was having difficulty because of some stupid reason like having feelings for her. If he really had feelings for her, he should be supporting her not dragging her performance down along with his. This movie is important to her – her debut and her chance to get out of the Love Me Section by having to act out the very reason that got her there.

Actually, the thought that she had to act it out depressed him a bit. Despite everything the two of them had gone through, he'd never been able to make a dent on her.

"You…" he started. "You didn't do anything wrong." He should just admit to her that he's the one having a hard time. She was the type to just take his word for anything and never ask follow-up questions. Hopefully, this time won't be any different. Because the way she is now, she'd never accept his reason. Not only 'not accept', she would run away. Screaming.

"How can you say that, Tsuruga-san?" she cried out. "You already know that I still haven't figured out my character yet, why aren't you shouting at me?"

He stared at the girl who sat across the table from him, with that same look she had when she expected a harsh lecture from before. She'd been doing a great job so far, so he had to ask, "What do you mean you haven't figured out your character yet?"

* * *

Kyoko squirmed in her seat. She finally told him.

Now that she had, she might as well tell him everything. She had been relying on her stretched, limited abilities for far too long. It was high time for her to admit that no matter how much she tried to do it on her own, she still needed Tsuruga-san's guidance

It's much better this way, since her fate would be much worse should Tsuruga-san ever discover that she hadn't fully developed her character and had been putting up airs about being able to. The only thing she's really been doing is act like "her cute self" (whatever that meant) - the impression of a lot of people on Chiaki. Well yeah, Chiaki is a naturally cute character who adapts a serious demeanor. But obviously, she was doing it wrong,

"Mogami-san?"

"Tsuruga-san," she turned to the man who could definitely help her. He was the hand of salvation. "You've been in love before, right?" With that high school girl. "But didn't have the guts to tell her." Maybe he already has. Back then, he mentioned something about his situation in the acting world. But he's already at the pinnacle of stardom, having conquered complex characters like Katsuki, Actor X and BJ. He shouldn't have any more of those chains.

"Eh?" he looked up in surprise. "Um… That is… How would you…?"

How? Oh, crap! He told Bo, not her. "Er… A little birdie told me." A chicken, actually. "Either way, my problem has something to do with Chiaki's contradictory personality. I mean… if she's so level-headed, smart and straight-forward, how come she hesitates so much telling Satoshi how she feels?" The book didn't provide the answer no matter how much she read between the lines. Tsuruga-san is level-headed, smart and straight-forward. Tsuruga-san will never provide her with the answer either, but he's always able to nudge her in the right direction. "You told me before that if it's nothing painful, you should just come out and say it, right?"

He just stared at her, dumbfounded for a moment, and finally said, "You… you can't just say things like that out loud so easily."

"Eh? Why not?"

"Would you do something like that?"

She just stared at him. She has. Every damn day of her life when she was younger and very, very, VERY stupid. A demon peeked out when her thoughts started going back to the darker period of her life when she would blurt out words of love, naïvely believing in that idiot. (She refused to say his name because she'd just calmed herself down.) She pulled the demon back in. Now was not the time to think about that.

Of course, this was a different case because a girl would have to be insane not to return Tsuruga-san's feelings. So the only thing that could possibly be in their way would be his admission, which is the same as Chiaki's case. "I'm just saying…" She started picking food on her lunch box with her chopsticks. "If you never say anything, your existence will never grow in their mind."

There was a moment's silence before he spoke, his eyes narrow. "Alright, Kyoko." She was surprised by his sudden use of her given name and the way he simply took her hand to his. "I've been in love you for a long time now. It may be because you're the same girl I've known all these years or maybe you made really good soup when I was sick."

She has just been staring at their joined hands the whole time he was talking. But when she realized he finished, she looked up at him. Her eyes probably as wide as saucers now. "Eh?"

W-what did he just do? Ren thought wildly as Mogami-san's eyes looked back at his. He didn't know what was happening when he did what he just did. But when she said that his existence would never grow in her mind if he didn't tell her his feelings, he just acted instinctively. Crap! This was exactly what he'd been afraid of since he agreed to do this movie – his real feelings would come out just as his real self had been coming out with the last two major roles he'd played. Now he'd actually said it!

It wasn't even like he was anywhere near the point in his life where he wanted someone this important in his life.

And what was his hand doing there holding her hand? He should just pull away. But he discovered that she wasn't even holding his hand, he was just tightly gripping hers.

"Tsu-"

He held his breath as she started to get over the shock.

"Tsuruga-san," she said, pulling her hand out of his grasp. "Don't throw me off by calling me by my name, holding my hand and saying that stuff from the script!"

Oh… that reaction. He didn't know if he should be relieved or annoyed by it. A vein started ticking loudly in his temple. Chiaki did make soup (from a can) for Satoshi. And Mogami-san doesn't know that they met 10 years ago.

"Really," she pouted. "Such a scary actor. You had me there for a second. You could have at least used 'Chiaki'."

This girl was really something else. In a span of a couple of minutes, he was guilty, confused and nervous. If she had said something else, would he have been disappointed? There was something inside of him saying that he wouldn't be. He'd expected this though. The pout on her face made her look so cute, he couldn't help but smile. Because the way the two of them were right now…

"But I'm starting to get what you're trying to say," she crossed her arms and closed her eyes, nodding as though in deep thought. "It would be like, even though you were getting all the signals from that person, you're not telling her you true feelings because… you're still afraid that you might get rejected? Am I right?"

Rejected? How did she come to that conclusion?

Then she opened her eyes and looked up at him apologetically. "I-I'm sorry, Tsuruga-san. I didn't mean that you'd be rejected. I was thinking in the terms of the character, not making commentary about your love life. Any other girl would…"

That vein was really starting to throb painfully as she continued to babble on. She wasn't just any other girl. He always thought that that was just the way she is. So what she just did… was that a rejection?

"Tsuruga-san," she caught his attention again. She was changing the subject. Her eyes were filled with determination and cheerfulness as she stared him in the eye. "Let's do our best ok? In Kismet?"

Before he could reply, laughter came from the open door. They turned their heads to find Vincent, the actor who played Yumemi's husband standing there. "Well now, it's no wonder what happened this morning happened," he chuckled. "Kyoko-chan… you're the female lead. Don't you think it's high time you learn how to pronounce the title properly?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Mogami-san glared at him hard. "I can read just fine."

"Well, I really didn't mean anything bad by it," he raised his hands in defense. "It's a habit of mine."

"What habit?"

"It's just one of those quirks bi-lingual people have," Vincent gave a short laugh. "So stop torturing Tsuruga-kun, who obviously understands English, over there. If you keep saying 'kissu-me-tto' with such a cute face like that, he might just actually do it."

"When I heard from a lot of people that they had lunch together in his dressing room," Seiji continued. "I thought they would have resolved whatever it was between them because of that incident. But the afternoon came out worse off than the morning. We only have several shots that can be deemed useable by my standard."

"An off-day maybe?" The president shrugged. "But I understand where your frustration is coming from."

"Maybe," Seiji crossed his arms again. "I thought that too…"

"But…?"

"But," Seiji continued tiredly. "The worst part came the next day. During the omiai shoots at the Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel…"

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- Yeah, Ren's been getting pawned left and right since Chapter 2. But don't ever think that he won't come back with vengeance! This is the Demon Lord we're talking about here!

- Reviews are more than welcome! As I said, if only to tell me that I'm off to outer space here.

- EDIT: I have received comments about Kyoko's proficiency in English. While Kyoko is good in English and she can imitate Young Corn's accent, when I envision characters speaking whenever I write, they use Japan convention, not English. Kismet can be spelled as キ ki ス su メ me ト to in Japanese. Also, it is not a very common and seldomly used word, even in English. I would think people would read it as it is syllabicated in katakana. Pronunciation-wise, it will come out as Kissumetto. I use thing because I have observed a similar scenario when it comes to Japanese dramas and movies that have English titles, like Smile (su-ma-i-ru) and Dream (du-ri-mu). Anyway, they will be promoting this movie. If they cannot pronounce it the way most Japanese people would pronounce it, no one would know what the hell they're talking about. I hope that makes sense.


	7. Chapter 7: Kyoko's Warped Logic

**Chapter Seven**

**Reading Notes:** Brace yourself. This can get confusing because of the shift in the character's point of view. Just take note of the naming convention and you'll know who's point-of-view it is.  
**  
Acknowledgment: **Bloody_Rose021 for the the beta-reading.  
**  
Dedications:** Again to my wonderful beta-reader, Bloody_Rose021, who got me all fangirling while writing this dedication.

* * *

As always, the usual disclaimers are applied.

It was the only free time they had together. They didn't have anything planned though. Kyoko was swamped with Kismet this week and she'd be on location next week for her own movie. But when Kyoko called her up on the verge of tears after her Kismet shoot, Kanae ordered her to go to their super secret place for their super secret talk, Hot Shouts Karaoke Bar.

While Kyoko was talking, she was so astounded that she couldn't help but react in the middle of it. "He did what?"

* * *

"I really can't believe you," Yukihito scolded Ren once they finally ended their day after his appearance in a late night variety show shoot as part of a promotion for one of the dramas that he was currently working on. "You've always been too polite with Kyoko-chan even though you've had her over at your place too many times for a senpai and kouhai type of relationship. And the moment you lose it is in front of the camera with fifty or so people watching?"

* * *

"D-Don't think of it that way, Moko-san," Kyoko said reassuringly.

"Mo! How else should I think about it?" she answered angrily, her female sensibilities offended. "No matter how you look at it, that guy harassed you!"

"No…" Kyoko said. "Well… what he did was beyond my comfort zone and he could have gotten his point across in a better way, but we already talked about it. Tsuruga-san only changed his acting to either teach me a lesson about overconfidence…"

* * *

"…or get her to act it out was what she was thinking," Ren answered, trying to keep his eye on the road.

Today has got to be the worst day of his entire career. Professionally, he was thoroughly disgusted with the day's work output. Personally, he was a wreck. It offended his sensibilities that despite being mentally prepared to not drop a job even at a loss of a parent, he'd become shaken and unstable after being, technically, dumped. Well, it was much better this way, he guessed. It was better than being a total goner.

"That's all?!" Yashiro-san exclaimed. He ruffled his head in frustration and said, "Kyoko-chan half-accused me of being a pervert just like the actor I manage and that's all she thought about you?"

Ren couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "She thought you're a pervert?"

* * *

"Kyoko…." Kanae stared at her. "You really have a warped way of thinking, don't you?"

Surprised, her eyes widened in wonder. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

* * *

"Thanks to that warped logic of hers, she got over it quickly," Yukihito sighed. Although it was still quite hard to believe that there was a girl in this world that could even take that kind of advance from Ren as anything else. The idiot who sat down beside him could render a girl speechless by simply existing. "Even with that kind of odd explanation."

"Well…" Ren stopped at a red light. "At times like these, when it comes to her, it's just better to just ignore it or go along with it, right?"

* * *

"It's not that."

"Then what?" Kyoko asked, taking a sip from the tall glass of juice in front of her.

"If that happened when you only hugged in the scene…" Moko-san started. She paused until Kyoko forced herself to meet her eyes. "How are you going to handle it when you finally have your kiss scene? That's next week, isn't it?"

Kyoko choked on the juice she was drinking. She… "I haven't even thought about that!"

When she first learned that she and Tsuruga-san would have a kiss scene, she was really horrified. The only reason she'd managed to calm down about it was because Tsuruga-san was so good natured about it that she didn't think it would be so bad. It was part of their job. She did think about proposing that the kiss be faked, but that would never be approved with realism-obsessed guys like Tsuruga-san and Director Shingai. And after some reflection, she realized that at least her first stage and actual kiss would be with someone she respected and trusted for so long.

The fact was that the only two times she was almost kissed left her terrified. She'd probably never see that Beagle guy again, but after encountering The Emperor of the Night again just this morning… Nooooo~!

* * *

"You saw how she flipped out when she first found out that there was going to be a kiss scene. And not in a good way," Yukihito continued. Other than throwing him out of the car, Ren had to listen to everything he was saying. "She'll probably be terrified of it now that she knows that you are a scary…"

* * *

"…lecherous, unscrupulous seducer of women."

"Moko-san… you're not helping here."

Kanae realized that she went too far. She didn't want her to give up. They got into the Love Me section together, they were getting out together. And with how the conversation was going, Kyoko didn't look like she was anywhere near from encouraged to continue. So she re-directed the conversation.

"But that's not even the problem here," she said. "Before you panic about something as small as a kiss scene, shouldn't you be thinking about what you're going to do? If you can't motivate Tsuruga-san into acting with you…"

* * *

"And what was with that acting? You were normal in Yokohama. But ever since you stepped onto the Kismet set, you've been nothing but weird. So it's no wonder that the same people who commented that your gaze was as frozen as an icicle before said it again tonight."

Ren was now very tempted to throw Yashiro-san out of the car. But he'd only feel stupid because he was telling the truth and he was being childish for refusing to accept it. "You're really not holding back, are you?"

His manager crossed his arms. "And who told me before that if I had a problem with you, I should just come out and say it?" He sneered at him mockingly. "One-take-king-san?"

* * *

"Today was terrible, Moko-san," Kyoko sighed. "I can't get him to take me seriously. I thought that after lunch, we wouldn't have problems anymore. But he was still bored and distant with my acting on every take we had. We even came to the point where we had 11 takes for a scene before the director called it good."

It seemed like a far-fetched notion. Kyoko has always been a great actress, but she's never been in a female lead role for a love-romance. And since Tsuruga Ren's genre before diversifying had been such light-hearted stuff, the chances of it were very, very slim. But maybe… Just maybe… "Maybe the problem is Tsuruga-san and not you?"

Kyoko was stunned speechless and just gave her a deadpan look. "What?"

"Maybe," Kanae leaned back on the couch. "Since you're already giving it your all, it should be that Tsuruga-san is the one having a hard time getting into character."

A second passed. Ten. Twenty. Thirty before Kyoko opened her mouth again. "Haaaaaaaaaaaah?"

* * *

"Kyoko-chan is doing a great job with Chiaki," Yukihito babbled on. He had to make Ren realize that his performance was affecting hers. "Her sweet and cute side is really coming out and it's all wasted on you."

At first, Ren's silence annoyed him. But when he turned to the actor, he looked downcast and deep in thought.

Oh well… he'd managed to get this far without having to walk home. He might as well finish it. "I mean, aren't those the very things that you like about her?" he continued. "Or are you just so used to seeing her as a cold-hearted villain in pretty clothes?"

* * *

"Maybe after that serial killer movie and now that he's doing more action and suspense stuff," Moko-san reasoned. "He may be losing his touch?"

Moko-san's words were so shocking, so absurd, she almost couldn't say, "T-That's preposterous!" Of course, once she said it, no one could stop her now. "This is Tsuruga-san we're talking about, Moko-san! Tsuruga Ren. He's the best actor in the country! There isn't a role he can't do!" Not in a million years. "Even if he hasn't been in this genre for so long, he's got the observation and memory skills to make that notion of yours impossible." He was able to teach her everything he knew, absolutely everything she needed to know about a female model with great skill - just from memory.

"Fine then, it was just a guess," Moko-san shrugged. "So if it is you and not him, then let him lead you into acting it out." Before she could protest about how she couldn't do that because her purpose here is to prove that she had the talent to also make highly-talented actors like Tsuruga-san act, Moko-san continued. "If you can't make him act it out, you should just let him lead. Otherwise, the movie will be a disaster. I'm sure that all that crap about him being the co-star killer for all these years should have some truth in it. Even a love immune person like you might end up being strung along."

* * *

"Where are those co-star killer moves of yours? The ones that make all the girls fall in love with you?"

Ren was getting annoyed. That reputation started out as a compliment to his ability to act out so realistically, any co-star of his can bring out the needed emotion required by a scene. But of course, as every film and drama passed, it became more and more about weird rumors about his female co-stars falling in love with him or something. "So you really think it will work on her?"

For the first time since they'd gotten into the car, Yashiro-san fell silent. "Oh yeah..." he finally said."She's in the Love Me Section - the place for people who don't want to love and be loved..." His voice trailed off, then suddenly panicked. "Wait a sec! Don't tell me... You've already tried it?" He hadn't. Even he was aware that he was just plain crap that day, but his manager continued to despair. "This is worse than I thought! Kyoko-chan... she's already at the point beyond redemption!"

"And I don't really know what co-star killer moves you are talking about," Ren turned the car left off an intersection. "I'm only going to do my job."

"Then do it!" Yashiro-san challenged. "If not for Kyoko-chan, then for your pride as an actor. No, no, for your pride as a man!"

He'd decided, even before this long conversation with Yashiro-san had started. A couple of months ago, the President told him that when dumped, he just complies and lets his girlfriends go, thinking of their happiness. Well, it was time for him to think about his own happiness too. And it wasn't like he was incapable of making a girl happy either, because one of these days, he wanted to be happy too.

"So you better get your act together when we get to Tokyo Imperial Herald tomorrow for Kismet," Yashiro-san said.

Wait a minute... He and Yukihito san were discussing the movie! Not his personal life. Oh man... there he goes again, thinking of something stupid again and not his role. Well, it's not like he can't do the role.

* * *

"Do it!" Kanae said in a near-shout. "I don't care if you vowed to one day have enough acting chops to lead Tsuruga-san on in a scene. If you want to have that chance again now that you've realized that you can't do it yet, you might as well do the role as he wants! You'll never be able to do that if you stay in the Love Me Section. We got in this cursed section together, we're getting out of it together too!"

* * *

Fuwa Sho tiredly slumped down in the backseat of Shoko's car.

It was another long day of recording, appearances, and shoots to promote his latest single. He was tired. He didn't want to move anymore. He just wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep. It was almost three in the morning. He'd probably just sleep the morning away later.

"Sho?" Shoko said as she pulled away. "I know you're tired so let's just go over your schedule tomorrow."

"Huh?" he sleepily turned to her. "OK." Not like he cared. Shoko will make sure that he gets there.

"You have to be up by 9 AM tomorrow—"

"What?" he complained. "Why?"

"Did you forget what I told you this morning?" she reminded him. "You still have that meeting with that important record executive at the Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel at noon."

* * *

The sky was only starting to light up. It was only five-thirty in the morning, but Ren had a packed morning schedule starting at six-thirty. After a long morning, he had Kismet for the rest of the afternoon and evening, he thought. Two changes of clothes should be just right for today. He started for his closet when his phone rang.

"You're in the hospital?"

"Yeah…" Yashiro-san sheepishly answered. "Sorry. I'm on my way out though. Just a quick trip to the emergency room. It must have been that shampoo I used in Yokohama since I ran out and used the one in the hotel. I didn't eat or do anything outside the norm. But don't worry. It's only an allergy and the doctor gave me a shot. I was told that the rashes will subside by tomorrow, so I'll see you then."

"Well," Ren said with concern. "You can take a few days off if you want. I can manage by myself for the meantime."

"No way!" his manager protested. "I'll go insane out of boredom if I do. Besides, your schedule is beyond human comprehension. If it wasn't for Matsushima-san's orders and how you've been right now on the Kismet shoot, I would be on my way now."

"Don't push yourself, OK?" Ren replied as he pulled out clothes from his closet and stuffed them in his bag. "There's no hurry. Just get better. I'll be fine, I can handle everything myself."

"Well…" Ren could almost feel the smile that stretched across his manager's face through the other line.

"What?"

"When I told Matsushima-san that I can't take a day-off and how packed your schedule is, he told me that he'll send in a pink-clad goddess who is just as inhuman as I am on your way to be your tempo–"

"No," Ren flat-out refused, knowing that Mogami-san only had school that morning but could be pulled out for Love Me duties. "Mogami-san's too busy to baby-sit me."

"Ren, you do realize that I called your temporary manager inhuman and you immediately thought of Kyoko-chan."

"So did you."

"I guess," he chuckled. The doorbell rang just in time for the silence in the phone call between them. Yashiro-san must have heard it so he said, "And my guess is that would be her," he said in a suspiciously sly tone.

"Are you even really in the hospital?"

"Yashiro-san," someone from the other line barked. "Please refrain from using your mobile phone! This is an emergency room and it conflicts with some machines!"

"Nnn…" Then he guessed Yashiro-san really was in the hospital. "Anyways, just get better. I'll see you tomorrow." And without so much as a good-bye, he hung up, tossed the phone on the bed and walked out of his room to answer the door. On his way, he was already composing a very strong argument to dissuade her of her obligatory Love Me responsibilities as temporary manager to send Mogami-san on her way so she doesn't have to lug after him until the Kismet shoot that afternoon.

He grabbed the doorknob and without waiting for it to fully open, he started saying, "Mogami-san, there's no need–"

But it wasn't Mogami-san at the door. It was the same hot pink jumpsuit, but in it was a pretty raven-haired girl who bowed upon seeing him. "Good morning, Tsuruga-san. Matsushima-san sent me to be your temporary manager today." She raised her head and Ren met Kotonami Kanae's eyes. "Or were you expecting someone else?" she smirked.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- I hope you didn't get confused with shifts in the conversations between Kyoko & Kanae and Ren & Yukihito. I thought about putting them in different sections, but their conversations are so parallel to one another that it's a pain to just have to repeat it again in the same chapter.

- Yes, yes, Beagle! If you understand what I'm talking about, his mention in this chapter is a mere reference. OK?

- Chapter 8 will be up in two to three days' time.

- Again, outer space reminders. Let me know! ^^ I love reviews. Seriously, I'd love to know if I'm actually killing all your comfortable illusions that Ren and Kyoko will live happily ever after. XD

- Adjustment: I re-uploaded this chapter to change the name of the karaoke bar that Kanae and Kyoko frequents. It's Hot Shouts not Hot Shoots.


	8. Chapter 8: Ren's Manager

**Chapter Eight:**

**Reading Notes: **When it's movie parts, the characters 'Chiaki' and 'Satoshi' are. But once they break out of character, it will shift back to 'Kyoko' and 'Ren'.

**Acknowledgments: **My awesome, but still suffering beta-reader, Bloody_Rose021. Also thanks for the OOC-check for Ren & Kanae. And Ecki, for some additional edits.

Disclaimers applied. I'm too tired to think up of something witty to write here, as I've been for the last couple of chapters.

* * *

Lory set down the bottle of wine that had been set in front of him. "So," he finally said. "Tell me what happened at the Tokyo Imperial Herald…"

* * *

"What do you mean you're closed? It's eleven-fifteen in the morning, how can you be closed?"

"I would really like apologize, ma'am," an employee of the café on the second floor lounge bowed. "This café is booked for movie staff, cast and crew only, starting this afternoon until this evening."

"Movie?" Shoko distractedly turned to Sho in case he started loitering on his own as was his habit. But Sho had his back against the wall, his eyes sleepy and his shoulders sagging. As usual, he woke up late again, barely having the time to brush his teeth, let alone have coffee. He was still a sleepy mess and the hotel café won't let them have coffee? Damn it, he had to make himself presentable. That guy they're meeting is a very, very important music executive.

"Yes, ma'am," the guy answered. "Kismet is going to be filming all throughout the afternoon and evening."

"Kismet?" Shoko's eyes widened in panic at the new forbidden word to use around Sho. What the hell? Why now? Shoko's mind was on red alert as she turned her head left and right, half-expecting Kyoko-chan or Tsuruga Ren – or worse, Kyoko-chan with Tsuruga Ren – to suddenly turn the corner. 'Why today?' She thought a little desperately.

"Yes," the guy replied. "If you would like, I can recommend another coffee bar within the hotel–"

"Yes please!" Shoko nodded vigorously. "In a floor where the movie won't be shot. Fuwa Sho-san really hates to be bothered." She gestured at Sho, only to be caught in a lie when they spotted him amicably chatting with a group of girls asking for his autograph.

The guy raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Well… there is a coffee bar at the 7th floor, which will be open for the hotel guests. It's quite secluded and there won't be anyone to bother Fuwa-san."

"Thanks." Jerk. Shoko turned and waited at a polite distance until the girls left before walking up to him.

"Where's the coffee?" Sho turned to her expectantly.

"They-They ran out," Shoko answered lamely.

"Huh?"

"Anyway, let's go!" She grabbed Sho's arm and led him to the elevators. The quicker they got out of there, the smaller the chance Sho will see them. The less chance of Sho seeing them, the easier her job would be. "We have to make a good impression and we can't do that if you feel like hell. So let's go to the 7th floor now for that coffee!"

* * *

Kanae marked off Tsuruga-san's ten-thirty AM appointment as completed. It was nearly noon and Tsuruga-san was driving through downtown Ginza to his next job at the Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel for the Kismet shoot.

She had to admit. The guy was really admirable. After a short argument between them about him not needing a temporary manager and her saying that she'd follow him around anyway, the two of them had been moving around non-stop.

However, she still found it suspicious how his ridiculously packed schedule could always accommodate time to hang around Kyoko outside the shoot, while she barely had time to see her once a week with a less busy schedule. Anyways, there was something more suspicious about the instruction that Matsushima-san gave: Just make sure he eats right. What the hell kind of a reason is that to be assigned to him?

But… he is a senpai in LME and one of the most distinguished actors in show business. She couldn't say she wasn't curious to see how the busiest actor in all of Japan functioned. It's not like the assignment wasn't a treat.

"Kotonami-san…"

"What?"

"Mogami-san told me that you're also working for a movie for your last assignment in the Love Me Section."

"That's right." Amazing. Kyoko talks about her?

"So why are you my temporary manager? Wouldn't Amamiya-san be a more suitable temp because she's not assigned to this last test yet?"

"Well," she rested her chin on her hand as she looked out the window. "Chiori-san is in the Box 'R' shoot right now. It's my day-off from the movie shoot, and the drama I'm working on won't resume shooting until the lead's back from the hospital two days from now." She stretched her arms and continued. "I'm actually scheduled to do some filing for Human Resources today. But since Yashiro-san's on a sick day, I was sent here instead. Anyway, it's not that strange anyway. Last week, Kyoko lugged after Bridge Rock when Toyokawa-san had an emergency." Then she thought about her other set of rivals who keep on knocking on the door of the Love Me Section office wanting to hang out with Kyoko when they already see her on a regular basis every week. "As if she doesn't spend enough time with them already."

"What do you mean by that?" he turned to her curiously.

"Nothing," she shrugged then crossed her arms over her chest. "Ishibashi Hikaru-san just requested for her, promising to shower her with 100 point stamps."

"I see."

"Anyway," she sighed. "Just because we're having our movie debut doesn't mean we're free from our Love Me responsibilities yet."

"Is it really that bad in the Love Me Section?"

"Not really," Kanae reflected. "I guess, it's annoying that we get stuck doing some mundane administrative stuff like filing. But I guess, it's nicer this way since we learn the ropes gradually and aren't immediately hurled out in the spotlight. But Kyoko and I, and Chiori-san too… we want to be real actresses."

"Who said that you guys aren't real actresses?"

"Huh?"

"Even though you're stuck with Love Me-related work, you guys have appeared on TV, magazines, billboards and all that," he said as he stopped at a red light. "Who said that the two of you aren't real actresses?" He smiled at her. "Right?"

Kanae just stared at him. What the hell was this? Is he trying to be… friendly? Yuck! Goosebumps of horror popped up on her arms at the thought that Tsuruga-san was trying to be amiable towards her. They were enemies, right? Just because they got to work together doesn't mean that he could take her spot as Kyoko's number one friend. And she was determined to guard that position with her life.

God! If it was any other girl outside the Love Me section who doesn't believe in crap like love, they would have fallen for that smile hook, line and sinker.

"What's with that look?" he asked in a deadpan voice.

"N-nothing," she stammered. This is so annoying.

Then all of the sudden, he laughed. "You… you're a lot like Mogami-san. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Huh?" he asked blankly. When his words sank in, her mouth involuntarily turned upwards. "Really?"

He inclined his head as he started to drive again.

"Hmph!" She turned to face the window again, refusing to be flattered. "You're the only one who thinks that. I'm sorry. But I don't have a weird sweet housewife disposition totally contradictory to the evil roles she's been playing."

"Yeah, I guess," He smiled good-naturedly.

"But, I can tell you now that I'm a demon with laundry."

He let out a silent laugh, turning his head towards the dashboard, "Ah, it's noon. Where does Kotonami-san want to eat for lunch?"

"Lunch?" She scanned Tsuruga-san's schedule. "What lunch?" she said, riled up. "Your shoot for Kismet at the Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel is in an hour and a half! It takes 20 minutes to get there from where we are now! Who has time for things like lunch? You need to get there now," she barked. "If you're that hungry, I'll run to the nearby convenience store and get you an onigiri or something! That qualifies as food, right?"

* * *

While their parents were discussing things, she idly glanced around the elaborate function room. When her parents told her to at least just meet with the guy that they had in mind for her, she only agreed to shut them up. But the next thing she knew, it was Sunday and she was being forced into an elaborate kimono and being dragged to the Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel. She thought that she was just meeting him.

But she was walking around the second floor lounge where they waited for the potential groom-to-be and his family. When she looked down from the staircase, she saw Satoshi-kun entering just as he came into the hotel with his own parents. They greeted her cheerfully from the lobby and the next thing she knew, she and Satoshi-kun were sitting in the function room with their parents where they were discussing a wide variety of things.

And as she sat back in the chair, she snuck a peek at Satoshi-kun only to find that he was looking back at her. She was so surprised that she slightly turned away only to sneak in another look. When she did, Satoshi-kun gave her a smile. The corners of her mouth lifted and Chiaki smiled shyly back at him.

"CUT! That was good," Director Shingai proclaimed.

Kyoko sighed, closed her eyes and started rubbing her temples.

She was going to go blind. She swears she's going to go blind. That divine smile Tsuruga-san has been flashing so generously as Satoshi since the start of the shoot was going to be the end of her. Well, it was still better than the fake smiles from yesterday, not that a lot of people would be able to tell the difference though. But as his co-star who knew the difference between the two, this was a better option since it motivated her to act more. Unfortunately, the demons inside of her were still doing a casualties count.

"Headache, Mogami-san?" Tsuruga-san asked, leaning over the table to her, tendrils of hair falling out of place from his slicked back hair.

"No," she answered, smiling back. "Just a little tired. I barely got here for the one PM call time because I got really hungry and had to get something to eat. I just ate in the train on my way here."

"That's not allowed," he teased.

"I know," Kyoko smiled guiltily. "I had to be really, really careful not to get caught. My make-up classes are murder, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"Well, you'll be having a busy week," Tsuruga-san said, again with that smile. "It's only Tuesday, and it's going to be a long day today."

"I know," Kyoko answered. He didn't have to do that again, her life was starting to feel in danger here. "Don't worry. It's nothing I can't handle. I'm probably feeling one of those 'so busy, your head's spinning' feelings. The wig's kind of heavy too." Referring to the wig, a straight a little passed the shoulders wig she was wearing for this flashback scene.

"Then that's good."

"OK, we'll be taking the individual close-up shots now," the assistant director announced. "Tsuruga-kun, you go first. Kyoko-chan, just stay close by, you come after him."

"Ah, OK!" She answered, opening her eyes as she continued to rub her temples. She stood up and went to the side.

"We move out of this function room in half an hour," Director Shingai reminded everyone of the time constraint that they have. "After this, everyone move to the hotel main lobby for the grand staircase scene. We only have a small window between two-thirty and four to shoot there since it's a dead time for the hotel."

They've only been shooting for about an hour now and, amazingly, things were running smoothly. Moko-san was right. She really had to give in and let Tsuruga-san lead. It really was different, when a pro like Tsuruga-san does it. She wondered when she would get to that level where she could also just seamlessly evoke the acting from the person she'd act opposite with. At least, in a role that wasn't scary - after being complimented so many times about it, she had an idea that she was good at those.

Today was a vast improvement from yesterday. Today was a day of one-takes so they were actually ahead of schedule for once.

Thank goodness. She had to admit, by putting her pride aside, she and Tsuruga-san were finally able to play the roles perfectly. Of course, she still had a little bit of her actor's pride so she still exerted effort in acting out the Chiaki she wanted without having to rely on Tsuruga-san that much. But Moko-san was right, by letting Tsuruga-san play the role as he wanted and just going along with it, the shoot had been pleasant and relatively stress-free.

"Mo~ko~san~," she cooed, approaching her. She was really happy when she saw her this afternoon when she arrived with Tsuruga-san. It was such a pain that now that they were getting busier, they had less time to spend together. At least, she wanted the two of them to work together on a project so that they could spend time together. But now, she was just content like this - maybe she could even do something for her movie, thinking of all the LME talentos and actors that are working on her movie

"Stay away from me, you," she turned to her evilly, her arms across her chest. "I'm working, you're working, the guy I'm looking after is working so do your job so I can do mine."

"I know, I know," she smiled happily. When working with Tsuruga-san, she'd developed a habit of hanging out with Tsuruga-san and Yashiro-san in-between takes so it was only natural that she hung out with Tsuruga-san's temporary manager. The girls just stood side-by-side as Tsuruga-san was went into position for his individual close-up shot.

"Also, looking so perky like that doesn't suit a lady in a kimono," Kanae haughtily replied. Then she quieted down when there was a call for silence on the set as the take for Tsuruga-san's shot started.

She leaned towards Moko-san and whispered, "You know what? I'm really glad I followed your advice. Otherwise, you'd be witnessing a disaster in the making today."

"You were following my advice?" Moko-san turned to her. When Kyoko nodded, she turned back to Tsuruga-san. "Well," she whispered back. "At least that co-star killer reputation of his is well-deserved and not only because of his looks."

Kyoko laughed silently and turned her attention back to Tsuruga-san who flashed that divine smile again. The light was so bright, the frontlines of her demon army howled in pain.

* * *

The lunch meeting with the music executive in the Imperial Room of the Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel was going well. He and Sho got along well about the direction they wanted to go to in, securing his place in the music industry as a legend. Sho was so satisfied about the way things were going that he didn't mind that he had to get up at ten AM for it despite coming home late after a gig last night at three AM.

Shoko had cleared his schedule for the entire afternoon until early evening because this guy was known for his eccentric ways, he worked at his own pace. Like now, where he said that he had an emergency conference call so he was asked to come back in an hour and a half.

With the mood that he was in, he didn't mind. In fact, the only thing that was keeping him from jumping and screaming out to the world in excitement is that it would be so uncool. But for some reason Shoko was really jumpy. Especially when he said that he was going to walk around after he finished his tea when they settled on the 7th floor coffee bar, she almost clamped her hand on his arm with no intentions of letting go. He didn't understand what she was so freaked out about. The 7th floor was nothing more than elegant restaurants and some shops. He promised her about five times that he wouldn't leave the floor.

Of course, that was all a lie. After circling the floor four times, he got bored and headed for the elevators.

It was kind of noisy, Sho thought, as he stepped off the elevator to the second floor hallway. It was three in the afternoon of a Tuesday. Shouldn't hotels be a little more quiet around this time of the week? He remembered when he was on tour across Japan. Those were the days and times he'd just freely loiter around. As he turned the corner, he came to a halt.

Awe filled him as he gazed at Kyoko's down-turned profile. She was reading something, but he didn't care about that. Even with all that make-up, that slightly-past the shoulder wig, and long elegant kimono, he could never mistake those features of the girl he knew since childhood. And she was really, really beautiful.

What was she doing here?

He opened his mouth to call out to her when some guy beat him to it, appearing from around the corner. "Let's go, Kyoko-chan."

She nodded and with an elegant walk that he used to see her do when they were still living at his family inn in Kyoto, she followed the guy.

"Kyoko!" he called out in a hushed voice that wasn't so loud. It was still a fancy place where shouting would be looked upon. She just ignored him without giving so much as an acknowledgment that she heard him. What the hell? Acting on impulse, he started after her in the long hallway.

At the end of the hallway, the guy she was following stood aside, allowing her to pass. He quickened his pace to get to her.

"Hey!" the guy hissed to him as he grabbed his coat. Whoever he was and why he was stopping him, he didn't care and shrugged the guy's hand away. He was set on getting to her no matter what.

"Hey, Kyoko!" Sho finally reached her and made a grab for her wrist. "Are you ignor-"

She whipped her head and glared at him for a second before shouting, "I'm in the middle of a take, dumbass!"

"CUT!" someone called. "Erm... Who's the guy?"

Whispers buzzed through the air. And Sho turned his head to look at what was going on.

The first thing he saw was a camera on a crane pointed directly at him and Kyoko, the cameraman looking at them with his eyes wide open.

Looking around, several people with lighting mirrors, another camera, and clipboards were looking at the two of them with the same level of awe as he felt. After that, he realized that he and Kyoko were standing by the banister of the grand staircase of the hotel's main lobby where probably fifty... maybe sixty sets of eyes were staring at them.

"Um…" he took a step back, still recovering from the shock.

"Idiot," she muttered, staring up at him.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- I did say that the perpetually author-abused and author-tormented Tsuruga Ren will be coming back with vengeance. I don't want to make him into the guy everyone gets to kick around. Let's just say that this chapter is not the end of his rampage. \O/

- The new manga chapter threw me in a loop. I did not expect Chiori to be the newest Love Me girl. I almost gave up on this chapter because I didn't know what to do since I have established that it is graduation for Kyoko and Kanae. Since (those of us who know) Chiori is new to the Love Me Section and does not have a connection with Kanae yet, I just made it "Chiori-san" for the mean time; also, while Kyoko and Chiori are both in Box "R", it seems weird that Kyoko is at school while Chiori is in the shoot. Remember, Kyoko mentioned before that Box "R" will not occupy so much of her time since she's not in all the scenes so she doesn't have to be on set everyday.

- Reviews are welcome. As always ^^ Seriously, I love getting them.

- Chapter 9 will be out in three to four days! It's a holiday week in my country so I have more competition for the computer ^^


	9. Chapter 9: Kyoko's Fears

**Chapter Nine:**

**Reading Notes: **There is a shift in the names from Ren to Satoshi and Kyoko to Chiaki and vice versa because of the transition of their characters to their roles.

**Acknowledgment: **Bloody_Rose021 for beta-reading as always XD

**Dedications: **To LilyEvans777, my 100th commenter. Well, everyone likes to dedicate something to their 100th commenter.

* * *

As always, disclaimers still apply.

"Oooh…" President Takarada shifted to lean forward. "Interesting. Pop star barges into a shoot for a rising star." With an eager look on his face that made Seiji suspiciously think that he might know something, he urgently said, "Then what happened? Then what happened?"

"Eh?" Seiji looked at President Takarada strangely. But then again, he's always known that the eccentric president can be like this – especially when presented with storylines for romances and drama. But this is hardly a love story. Actually, this is more like a tragedy. No, no, a catastrophe.

The President's demeanor darkened. "Shingai-kun…." He suddenly looked like a little girl having a fit. "I'm on tenterhooks here! What happened next?"

* * *

"W-what the hell is going on here?" Shotaro glanced around frantically, finally noticing that there are sixty-three cast and crewmembers looking at them – not counting the on-lookers. The idiot.

"What the hell do you think?" Kyoko drawled out. Then she finally noticed that his hand was holding her wrist so she snatched it back. Yuck! "We're in the middle of a shoot and you just interrupted it, moron!"

"Huh?" He's still confused. And when he finally realized it, he just said, "What the- So-Sorry… I didn't know…"

"Well, with your limited brain capacity, that's no wonder," Kyoko sneered. Then she angrily turned to him and a couple of her assault demons attacked. "You idiot! Do you have any idea how long it took to prep this scene?"

Because one of her demons had itself wrapped around his neck, he choked out, "I already said… I didn't know…"

"Hah! A lame excuse!" She crossed her arms. "For all I know you've been following me around!"

"HAH!" he countered, breaking free of her demons and walked up to her, stopping only when they were face-to-face. "Don't flatter yourself! Maybe you're the one following me."

"If I had an axe, probably!" Kyoko answered back. "But my reason is right here. Where's yours? I don't see your manager anywhere. So why don't you just to back to wherever and watch a TV variety or something?"

"Hmph!" Shotaro crossed his arms and turned his head away, his cheeks pink. "Y-you know I don't watch TV."

"What the heck is going on?" one of the crew members asked from side. "Why is Kyoko-chan having a fight with Fuwa Sho?"

"Oh-hoooo…" Kyoko mockingly jeered. Liar. "Says you."

"They're fighting but they look like they're having fun," someone else remarked.

"For your information, I happen to be here on very important business for my career," Shotaro announced. "Not to chase around some actress."

"Maybe they're going out."

In unison, they turned to the guy who blurted out the last statement and pointedly declared, "WE'RE NOT GOING OUT!"

"T-That was just a guess," the poor guy peeped. And finally, for the first time since their explosive argument, Kyoko has become aware for herself that there ARE sixty-three pairs of eyes (plus those of the on-lookers) staring at them. She immediately felt heat rise to her cheeks.

But Shotaro was oblivious of that and continued to badger the guy. "I would never go out with such a heartless girl like this, I don't care how pretty she is!"

Her back stiffened after hearing that. Now where the hell did that come from? Her? Pretty? Shotaro being the one to say that? "Eww, gross! Like I'm holding out for the day you'd ever call me pret-"

* * *

"Mogami-san…" Ren said, cutting her off by grabbing her shoulder and gently pulled her as far away from Fuwa as he could while keeping her close by.

"What?!" she turned her head to him angrily. And when their eyes met, her face drained of color. "Tsuruga-san? What are you doing here?"

What is he doing here? The question should be: What the hell is Fuwa doing here? This was their movie, right? He's supposed to be here. It's that Fuwa that came totally out of nowhere and he was feeling and being treated like he's the one who was intruding?

Again, the presence of this guy made her withdraw to a world where only the two of them existed. While Satoshi was standing just by the doors of the hotel with his parents to unexpectedly see Chiaki, Ren stood with everyone standing in that lobby in shock when Fuwa Sho barged into the scene.

As soon as he got over the shock and recovered, he suddenly found himself moving in a blur and the next thing he knew, he was pulled Mogami-san away from him.

It was a world where he had no chance of winning. This is the third time he ever felt like that and he couldn't stop himself anymore. Half aware that everyone had their eyes on them, he decided to pull her out of that world. And using the only weapon he had, he said the words…

"We're still working. Remember? We can only use the lobby until four. It's already three-fifteen and we still have two scenes left to shoot." Funny, he hadn't even realize the shoot until he said it.

"Oh," she peeped. "Oh, no…" she said with a really guilty voice.

Knowing that her next action is to undoubtedly apologize, he didn't give her the opportunity and turned to Fuwa. "Fuwa-kun, please get out of the set," he said coolly, staring him straight in the eye. "We're actually under time constraint here and you just set us back. You really wouldn't want the embarrassment of being hauled away by security, do you?"

"Tsuruga-san," Mogami-san pointedly said. "There's no need to be polite to him! He deliberately interrupted the shoot just to annoy me."

"Urgh," Fuwa let out a breath of frustration. "How many times do I have to tell you it wasn't intentional."

"So it was just to annoy me!"

Polite? He didn't think he was being polite. He actually thought that was a bordering on rude already. "Yes, we should, Mogami-san," he leaned down and said in a low voice. "There are people watching."

"Ugh…" she stiffened. "You're right."

"Tch," Fuwa let out a frustrated breath. "Fine, I should go. I wouldn't want to interrupt, time is money after all. And anyway, it's not good to have a female lead of a love-romance acting so brashly and uncute especially when she's supposed to be acting like a lady."

Mogami-san did him proud by actually curbing her tongue at the obvious jibe that Fuwa threw at her. But Ren could feel her temper flare.

Ren's eyes trailed Fuwa as he started to walk away. "The thing I find strange though is…" He stopped and with his back turned, said, "Kyoko, I wonder why you would actually listen to a talentless guy with a brain the size of a die that will clatter when his head shakes who only got into his agency because of his looks."

Ren didn't take the bait. This is show business. There are people who will always think someone is a talentless hack with no brains who only got by their looks. But unfortunately, Mogami-san bit. "What did you say?" she angrily drawled. Ren started feeling something dark rising from her.

"Hey," Fuwa smirked at them. "Your words. Not mine. Or did you forget what you think about Tsuruga over there?"

And with that, he made a quick exit. But not quick enough when a woman with wavy hair, escorted by security, appeared at the corner and cried out, "Sho! You promised you'd stay at the 7th floor! I've been looking all over for you. That record exe…" And the woman's voice trailed as they disappeared, not even bothering to bow or apologize to all the people Fuwa they've inconvenienced with their interruption.

Ren leaned down to her and said, "Mogami-san, I didn't know that you thought so poorly of me before." He knew that she was very upset. The Mogami-san he knew would probably drag this out again, as was her nature. But this can interfere with her acting and they'll never finish the scene.

He said it in a teasing way. To get her to relax and calm down, he had to be the calm and rational one. But in reality, he was furious. Not because of what Mogami-san thought of him before. Hell, even he had a low opinion of her when they first met, although he wasn't as descriptive and colorful with the words. But it did hurt a little that she thought of him that way.

Actually, the reason why he was furious was because even after all this time, the gods were still conspiring to bring them both together.

"So warm… Must get to that life source… The wonderful scent is coming from here… I'm revived!"

Tsuruga-san… He's angry. Her face fell, watching her demons who were incapable of attacking Shotaro allowing him to humiliate her circle around the same guy who nearly caused their demise earlier because of his divine light. He's angry because of what she thought of him before? That was a long time ago! Everything's different now!

"B-but," she stammered. "That was way before we met. I didn't mean any of those things." Now she was lying too. "Well," she muttered. "I did that time, but that was before I got to know you, Tsuruga-san!"

"I know," he smiled that lying smile of his again. "Don't worry about it."

He's lying. The harsh light of that smile says it all. "R-really, Tsuruga-san. He's just trying to be annoying. Seriously, I hate that guy to the point where I am constantly thinking about… the fact that since he's going to hell, I'm going there too just to make hell hellish for him." Actually, she really wouldn't. Who'd want to spend the rest of eternity with that jerk? This lifetime was enough. But her mind went completely blank and the first thing that she could think of to say was that. She could hardly use the word 'revenge' since it was one of the forbidden words to be said around Tsuruga-san.

His smile disappeared and he stared at her with an odd look on his face.

But before he could say anything, the assistant director came up the staircase and said, "We're done with the set-up for the second take. Kyoko-chan, Tsuruga-kun, places please."

"O-OK," Kyoko answered and looked up at Tsuruga-san. "Let's go, Tsuruga-san?" Her heart thumped wildly as the stare suddenly turned into a heated glare.

C-crap. The Demon Lord has awakened!

* * *

They were now seated across each other inside the second floor café on a table right beside the window that gave a gorgeous view of the city, waiting while the scene was being prepared for their third take. The hair and make-up artist fussing over Mogami-san, while the wardrobe director was brushing his coat to take out lint.

When Ren saw the panicked, terrified look on Mogami-san's face, he managed to shake off the anger that was building up inside him. She wasn't the reason he was angry and if he showed her that he was, she would have run away from him.

Somehow, they were able to complete the hotel lobby scene, only going a little over their four PM deadline. It wasn't such a hard scene to do since it doesn't require any dialogue on his part. All he had to do was stare at her as though she was the most beautiful girl in the world, which she pretty much was.

But after they moved out of the hotel lobby into the café on the second floor, he realized how distracted he really was. Even though he wasn't angry at her, he found himself annoyed with her.

Fine, she hates Fuwa. He knew that much. But to have herself so consumed by that hatred that she constantly thinks about the likes of Fuwa? What the hell does that mean? That in order to have Mogami-san think about no one else other than him, she'd have to hate him to the core?

He wasn't an idiot. He knew that Fuwa had found some kind of epiphany in Karuizawa to the point where he'd almost confessed to the girl he'd discarded. But of course, his place in Mogami-san's life was already to the point where she was unable to look at him with anything else other than dislike. And today, he'd riled her up again. Was he doing that just to get her to hate him more and still think about her revenge on him? So he'll always stay on her mind since the difference in their genres of entertainment almost made it impossible for them to see each other?

Isn't that cheating?

And illogical, because Ren couldn't understand why anyone would want to be hated by her. He certainly didn't. Besides, when Mogami-san hated him, she probably didn't give him one thought unless he was around and that was only so she could think up ways to avoid him.

"OK, we'll be picking up from the time Chiaki drinks her tea," Director Shingai instructed. "Let's get it right this time."

"OK," the two of them said in unison.

The clapper signaled the start of the scene.

Satoshi watched as Chiaki picked up the tea and took a sip.

"To tell you the truth," Chiaki said when she finally set down her tea. "I kinda expected my parents to arrange something like this for me way before. But now that it's actually happened, I kinda feel weird about it."

"Weird how?"

"Satoshi-kun," Chiaki leaned forward towards him. "I have no interest in marrying anyone who is not in love with me."

"Well," Satoshi shrugged. "I feel exactly the same way. Because of our families, this seemed more like a business arrangement rather than an actual wedding." That is why this conversation was really important. This was why he, with their parents' permission, asked her to spend some time with him in the café. He has to know what Chiaki thinks and feels about him.

She smiled. "Then you understand why I have reservations about this thing."

Satoshi's eyes narrowed. "You do?"

"Well you see, it's not only that," Chiaki expounded. Her eyes set on him. "The person I will marry will be someone who is always on my mind. He has to be someone that I will love so much that if he ends up in hell, I will be willing to go there too just to be with him."

It was that line from Chiaki again that bothered Ren. Mogami-san probably thought about it because she tried to relate how she felt earlier to that. But the comparison she made was very, very distracting. And this is where Satoshi should realize that he is not someone she was willing to go to hell for.

"Ehh? Hell is quite far," Satoshi said. Then he met her eyes and narrowed them. "Isn't it?"

"E… um…" Mogami-san leaned back, her eyes wide. "Wouldn't you-?"

"CUT!" Director Shingai said, "Kyoko-chan, you forgot to deliver the line. Don't stutter. Confidence. Don't look at Tsuruga-san too much that your forget yourself. Tsuruga-kun, Satoshi is upset annoyed in this scene, not sarcastic annoyed. Can we have that again?"

And again, he was unconsciously doing that again.

"Not again," Director Shingai groaned as he ran his hand through his face.

* * *

Kanae just started at Tsuruga-san and Kyoko as the scene was being prepped for the fifth time. Not again what? This is too weird. Even a newbie like her knows that something is wrong with how the events before them are being played out.

Again, she should have listened to her gut instinct. Kyoko was not the one who was screwing up. The two of them have been living too long with the brand that there is something missing in the two of them that they were susceptible to believe that compared to others, they were mediocre. But from where she was standing, it was obviously Tsuruga-san who had been screwing up. That glare of his when he said 'Hell is quite far' made her shake in her sneakers the first time she saw it. Of course, that wasn't the mood that was intended in the scene.

"I feel sorry for Kyoko-chan," she heard one of the crew say from behind her.

"She's been getting scolded a lot."

What the hell? Kanae started at Tsuruga-san. It's all his fault, why wasn't anyone blaming him?

* * *

Kyoko-chan obviously had an upset look on her face when she left their conference at eleven-thirty in the evening. All Seiji could do was stare after her as she stepped out of the room to head to the lobby where a car he'd arranged for her was waiting because the meeting had kept her out late.

The shoot ended at nine. He had intended to talk to Tsuruga-kun about the problem but he had another job to get to so he spoke with Kyoko-chan instead.

Seiji was starting to get worried about the future of this movie. Yesterday could be chalked up to an off-day. Today, the shoot started out so excellently, that he just wrote yesterday off. After the Fuwa Sho incident, things started to go awry again.

The vision he had for this movie was starting to become a distant dream. He thought by having Kyoko-chan and Tsuruga-kun together, the vision to up the story one level than it's seemingly shallow premise let up might have been realized. Well, everything else has been heightened. But the love story part was turning out to be a disappointment.

"What a troublesome person," he said to himself.

Instinctively, he picked up his mobile phone and dialed. It got picked up in three rings and he said, "Good evening, President Takarada. Will it be possible for us to meet as soon as possible?"

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- First off... Yeah. I promised several days after posting chapter 8 but I failed to realize that my beta-reader is back at school from spring break and that she's busy with other stuff -_-''' So I will no longer make promises about when the next chapter will be up. But expect it not to exceed a week.

- When Seiji noted that Lory seems to know something involving Kyoko and Sho, it is in reference to Kyoko's admittance during the audition that she wants to join show business in order to catch up with Sho. It has nothing to do with his knowledge of the relationship between the two because he really doesn't and Kyoko never talked about it except in very vague terms. It was never revealed in the manga that President Takarada knows anything about that. And everyone knows that Lory knows that Ren is in love with Kyoko, but has no clue about Kyoko's feelings for Ren.

- I know that some of the things that Sho used as references of old Kyoko's opinion of Ren are more parallel to the things that Mimori during the Prisoner Arc, but Kyoko did mention that the thing they are reminiscent of the Ghost of Kyoko's Past so I took the liberty of using them too. There aren't that much in Chapter 1 of the manga to use as a nice description for the hero of this fanfic. ^^

- When Kyoko said that she wants to follow Sho to hell, it is in reference to Chapter 18 when Kyoko said about when going completely blank, a person would say the first thing that they are used to – like the script. Just something to know just to ensure everyone that despite my goals to develop the characters, I try as much as possible to give basis from canon for stuff that happened.

- This chapter was quite dramatic. The Demon Lord is angry so what can I do? Well, I could make him NOT angry but I wouldn't know where to go from there. Let me know what you think will happen to the hero of this fafic... .\ /.


	10. Chapter 10: Ren's Pointing System

**Chapter Ten**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Skip Beat! me writing here should be indication of that already.

**Acknowledgment: **Bloody_Rose021 for beta-reading as always.

**Dedications: **To **arienrhod**,the reviewer who got the closest guess as to Ren's fate. Of course, she's *am I wrong?* missed out on one important detail though. But this is a highly volatile fanfic so... Well... I'm not sure if she's going to be happy to have this chapter dedicated to her.

* * *

Kyoko stepped out of the suite on the fourteenth floor, which served as a post-shoot command center for the day.

"Kyoko-chan, are you having problems acting with Tsuruga-kun?" Director Shingai asked.

"N-no!" she lied. But considering that the director was already asking about it, she knew that she'd been found out. "Well, I'm actually playing it by ear right now, depending on Tsuruga-san's pace. At first, everything was going smoothly. But when the one-on-one scenes between Satoshi and Chiaki started… Well, it seems as though Tsuruga-san and I have a totally different approach on how we wanted to act the characters out so it doesn't really seemed synchronized."

She really had to choose her words well that time, she thought as she dragged her feet to the rows of elevators. She couldn't blame Tsuruga-san for acting in a way opposite to her own acting. But even at that point, she didn't want to admit that she was having a hard time with it. It was already stretching the limit of her abilities with that destructive emotion 'love'.

But the scariest words that Director Shingai said were, "You know, Kyoko-chan, even though we're already shooting, it's not unusual for one of the cast members to withdraw in the middle of it. Especially if that cast member and the director do not agree with the vision."

At least she didn't get fired. But what the director said was a thinly veiled warning. Translating to 'Shape up or you're out.'

She sighed as she mechanically entered the elevator. At least tomorrow is her day-off from the Kismet shoot. She'd get the chance to work on her character. In the morning, she had school, then Box "R", then a couple of hours in LME before Kimagure Rock in the early evening.

She'd have some time to think about the character. Maybe… she should call Yashiro-san to get Tsuruga-san's schedule so she can rush wherever he is to talk about how Chiaki and Satoshi should act together so she could finally stop her erratic performance. After all, after being burned, what did she know about the joys of love?

"Hey, are you alright?"

* * *

"Aah!" Kyoko yelped in surprise at the question. She turned to him and angrily asked. "What are you doing in my elevator?"

"Hey, I don't see you name anywhere here," Shotaro crossed his arms. "And I was here first. Anyways, you look worried. Anything wrong?"

She glared at him for a second and haughtily answered, "Hmph! If anything was wrong, why should I tell you? So you can gloat?"

"You really are…" He started, but stopped himself. He hadn't expected to see her so soon after that thing that happened at the hotel lobby that afternoon. And when she'd entered the elevator, he really didn't have any intention of talking to her. Even though she was ignoring him and didn't even notice that he was there. But through the mirrored doors of the elevator, she looked so distraught that he panicked.

That was the expression she always had when she was about to cry. The thing that annoyed him was that after the Prisoner shoot, he'd always been so conscious whenever he encountered a girl in tears. He had never been able to comfort the girl he grew up with and knew everything about just because he got uncomfortable about seeing her cry.

And just now when she was about to, he still didn't know what to do. Instead, she lashed out at him and that just really annoyed him.

"Whatever," he scoffed, stepped forward and pressed '3'.

"W-what are you doing?"

"Stu~pid~," he said as he turned to her. "After what happened in the lobby this afternoon, do you really want to be seen getting off the elevator with me after a long trip from the top floors? What will people think? You'll never become a star if there are all sorts of creepy rumors about you."

Ah… The expression on her face said that she'd only realized it now. Really, this idiot still had a long way to go in understanding what it's like to be a celebrity.

The elevator stopped at the third floor, which was a near-empty floor filled with conference and function rooms, he stepped out saying, "Good luck with your movie," he said, trying to sound like he didn't care.

"Hah?"

He pivoted. "You didn't forget that little vow you made, did you? I'll be waiting at the top for you. Just make sure you don't fall for the moves of that 15-inch platform shoe wearing gorge-star."

"Wha-!?" she shouted. "Why would he? There's no reason in this world why he would-" But the elevator doors automatically closed before them.

Sho just stared at the elevator door for a while, dumbfounded. Why would he? Uh… Because Tsuruga is-

Wait a minute. Does that mean that Tsuruga still hasn't done anything yet? Or maybe he lost interest? Maybe he lost the novelty of falling in love with a plain, uncute girl like Kyoko. After all, that *didn't want to say it* is being chased after women far more gorgeous and much sexier than she is.

Hah! He thought haughtily. Tough luck on him. He gave up without experiencing time with a girl who can cook like a chef, do things in the most efficient way, be more caring than the most caring thing in the world – all with a cute smile on–

Then he caught himself and got frustrated enough to stomp his foot on the floor. Why on earth was he even thinking about his woman being with Tsuruga?

* * *

"You should be very proud of yourself today."

The sarcasm caught his attention and Ren's head snapped towards Kotonami Kanae as he just put his car on park in front of her home. The shoot ended at nine, but he had had another job so they went on their way. It had been a long day – a day he wasn't particularly proud of – and all he wanted to do was have a drink. The surprising statement from Kotonami-san made his voice tread dangerously. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," she flipped her hair. "I realized early on that I didn't want to back out of this assignment because I wanted to see The Great Tsuruga Ren that my best friend puts in such high regard in action.

"You know…" She turned to him and said, "Earlier this afternoon, I really admired the way you acted out Satoshi. It was so believable that I even came to the point of thinking, 'Maybe this guy is really in love with Kyoko.' After the lobby scene, I thought you were horrible."

Her answer surprised him.

"Because the one jerk who had the balls to issue a public challenge against you more than a year ago showed up, you get distracted like your precious image didn't depend on it." She eyed him insultingly. "It's not like Kyoko couldn't have handled that guy on her own. If she ended up being a crumbled heap like how she usually ends up being, I would have come and tore his head off. But you came along, trying to be some kind of gallant knight in her defense like she even needed one. And after your so-called rescue, you choked. I wonder what happened to the Tsuruga Ren who is always so cool under pressure."

Ren's eyes narrowed at the girl but she wasn't even fazed like how Mogami-san would be.

"But no one's going to blame you, right?" she glared at him with an intensity that rivaled his. "Other than Fuwa Sho, who has the balls to stand up to the great Tsuruga Ren anyway? They're going to blame Kyoko because she's not able to deliver. Even if it's you who's been unable to perform."

His eyes widened with shock at her blunt honesty. Why on earth would Mogami-san be blamed for anything that happened in this movie? He's the one having problems. He knew that much.

"Unless you're totally stupid or totally blind, that girl happens to be very talented," she continued. "But if she doesn't pass this last test for the Love Me Section, she'll think that she's worthless and undeserving to be considered an actress that she might give up. I'm getting sick and tired of being told we have deficiencies in certain aspects of entertainment that's why I'm getting out of the Love Me Section. But, I want to take Kyoko along with me."

For the first time in a long time, he actually wished his perky, meddling manager was here. Not this virtual stranger, who honestly, he just got to know today after being acquainted with her for over a year. So he did the only thing he could. "Kotonami-san," he smiled and held out his hand. "Thank you for your hard work today. Can I have your Love Me record book?"

He knew that his non-response to her annoyed her terribly because she grudgingly pulled out and her book and held it out to him. He was just about to reach for it when she deliberately dropped it. He didn't miss out on the insult she just gave him and just picked it up and went on to stamp on her pad and scribbled his notes.

* * *

It was intended to be a puff piece.

A publication like Boost Magazine never writes puff pieces. But since Kismet is slated to be biggest love romance of the year, readers have been clamoring for something about it. There's nothing special about it. Big book gets big movie deal with a big budget, a big director with a big actor and a big newbie actress. The only thing that was supposed to make it worthwhile is the five-drink tab that he managed to wring out from management at the super posh Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel in order to "blend in" with the crowd.

But he never thought that the day would be THAT interesting.

At first, he didn't connect the two. He always thought that the first time he'd seen the lead actress Kyoko was at that softdrink commercial. But he was wrong. He'd seen her months before in the Mountain Plain Hotel with the director and Tsuruga Ren. His memory wouldn't have triggered it if he never saw her walk around in that wig and kimono.

He rummaged through a boxful of photographs he'd taken with a spy camera he was given by the company. He found it! A slightly blurry picture of Kyoko with Tsuruga Ren as he helped her on her feet, crutches on the floor.

Tsuruga Ren… Hah! He's the top actor in show business and has the most boring track record for gossip. Not one scandalous tidbit of information to make him interesting enough. When he was assigned to follow him around (because the women field reporters were useless at it), he was thrilled because a big name star like him would be his ticket to a quick and steady pace up the ladder. But for the two years he's been following him around, nothing was newsworthy enough. That guy really pissed him off.

And Fuwa Sho. He would know better than to annoyingly brush him off and ignore interview requests in the future.

"Oh, you're back," his editor startled him. "How was the Kismet shoot? I want the article in two hours. We have to have everything in the presses in three hours for tomorrow's release." When he grinned, the editor's expression changed. "Lemme guess… 'Sordid Love Affair On The Kismet Set'?"

He shook his head. "Too boring. You're the editor, you know how many sordid love affair stories we have for tomorrow's issue?"

He nodded. "Five. So it is… 'Scandalous Love Triangle On The Kismet Set'? If it is, I want who know who the third party is."

"He he…" he smiled evilly. "Something much, much more interesting than that." He eyed the profile of the sweet-looking little actress. "Sorry for ignoring you all this time, dear. But you're going to serve your purpose now."

"Then what? If you make it worth my while, I will put it on front page."

* * *

What the hell did she just do?

Kanae leaned against the door as let her heart slow down.

She'd just insulted Tsuruga Ren! The best actor in Japan. A senpai in LME. The person her best friend looks up to. She had just ruined her career in show business. She didn't even get to consider those things when she jumped to the defense of her best friend. What the hell!? If her life in show business ends because of this, she'll never forgive Kyoko!

In her anger over what happened at the lobby and the disastrous results after, she stalked the hotel for a while looking for that little trouble-making freak, Fuwa Sho. But she couldn't find him. She was furious and she lashed out at the next person to blame for the day: Tsuruga Ren.

But… it's not like she didn't say the truth. Tsuruga-san would only prove to be shallow and superficial if he couldn't accept the truth of her words. She wouldn't have been so pissed off if he at least showed a little bit of remorse. When they finished the shoot, he just dragged her along to the next job like nothing happened. And even to go as far as say in a late-night talk show that everything all good in everything he's working on - including Kismet.

"Senpai my butt," she muttered.

Her career was over.

"Mo!" she angrily threw her bag on the floor and several things fell off including the heart-shaped book that recorded her progress in LME and her eye caught the latest entry.

**Temporary Manager:**

**_100 points. Excellent work._**

_Shows dedication, hard work, fairness, honesty and strong loyalty._

Kanae's hand shook as she picked up the record book. That guy… he complimented her? After everything she told him? Slowly, a smile formed on her face.

But her smile quickly disappeared when her eye caught the upper right corner of the heart-shaped book where she read:

**_-10 points. Very bad._**

_Needs to work on her temper._

**_-10 points. Very bad._**

_Skipped lunch._

_**Total Score = 80 points**  
_

_~ Tsuruga Ren_

Wha-what the hell is this?

Kyoko was right… Kanae thought as she slowly felt her spirit leave her body as Tsuruga Ren's final blow struck. Once you cross Tsuruga Ren, he'll bully you for as long as you live… That damn man! If he was just going to give her 80 points, he should have just used the 80-point stamp!

And what the hell is this whole 'skipped lunch' thing? He's a pro, isn't he? He should know how to diet since his cheeks are obviously filling out.

* * *

The President leaned on his side as Seiji ended his story. "And…?"

"And that's it," Seiji sighed. "Incredible talent but very, very troublesome. Working on the scenes with the ensemble is great. But a great ensemble will not work for a movie that centers around two people. If the chemistry between Satoshi and Chiaki's not right, this movie will be a failure. And right now, it's just plain awful. I always thought that because they get along with each other well, there shouldn't be any problem. But if one fails to get into character, they're only dragging the other person down."

"What would you recommend?"

Seiji met the man in the eye. He's risking it, but no matter how much that person is a favorite of President Takarada, he's always been a fair judge. "You said before that after the favor I accomplished with Ruriko-chan that if I get to work with LME again, I will have free reign on the actors I work with," he reminded him of their agreement made long ago. "If Kyoko-chan can produce a livelier interaction with a total acting novice like Fuwa Sho, I expected more in an interaction with an actor like Tsuruga-kun. President Takarada," He met his eyes. "I recommend to have Tsuruga Ren fired from the Kismet production effective immediately."

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- No, Shingai does NOT have a deal with Lory. I just made that part up, especially since getting Ruriko for Ring Doh has no benefit for Shingai, there must be a big pay-off for him in the future, right? Anyway, that part always bothered me because Shingai is described to be a perfectionist. Yes, he still bows down to Lory's power as the most powerful man in the business, but he's a generous guy. I'm sure Shingai will have something in it for him.

- Ren always gets pwned by Kanae. It's time for him to return the favor. ^^;;;

- What? Don't tell me you thought that it was a build-up for Kyoko to get fired? Shingai is more astute than that!

- Anyway, please review! I seriously love getting them. I really like to know what you think about the story. ^^ Anyway, next chapter up by early next week XD


	11. Chapter 11: Kyoko's Forgotten Bike

**Chapter Eleven**

**Acknowledgments:** Bloody_Rose021! Still the most awesome beta-reader ever.

**Dedications:** To Ecki, who has shed insight to what will happen in this chapter while I was still writing the second chapter.

Too lazy to type in disclaimers but everyone who reads fanfiction already knows that they apply.

* * *

"What?" Kyoko cried out. It being seven in the morning and all, she ended up startling several students as they headed inside the school gate. "What do you mean by that, Yashiro-san?"

"He's going to be fired," Yashiro-san sighed. "I didn't even know until now. He didn't even tell me. Matsushima-san just called me to tell me that there might be a possibility that I may have to clear Ren's schedule for Kismet so I should sit down with Ren to look over the other offers he's been given."

"T-that can't be!" She shouted in outrage. Several people jumped. "Where are you guys right now?"

"I'm actually at the Kismet set right now. Ren's supposed to shoot Satoshi's scenes with his family today," he answered. "I thought you might know something. But Ren is at the President's office right now to state his case."

'No… it can't be', she frantically thought, tightening the drip on her phone. Tsuruga-san can't be fired! They can't point the blame at him… Wasn't the reason why Director Shingai talked to her last night was because of her poor performance? She thought that what she got away with last night was a warning. They should be firing her!

"Kyoko-chan? Are you listening?"

Tsuruga-san once told her (while she was playing Bo) that he was fired many times before. But he had long passed that hurdle and was now maintaining a perfect record, working through colds, typhoons, and so many other things. And because of her and her incapacity to act properly, the finger had been pointed at the wrong person.

Oh no! Could it be that because of her carefully worded way of saving herself from being kicked out of the movie last night, she made it sound like she was blaming Tsuruga-san? It didn't make sense though… Why would the director listen to a newbie like her who was having problems over the actor who has the most perfect track record in all of show business.

Oh crap! Tsuruga-san's perfect record will be ruined all because of her??? She'll be known as the difficult actress who got her co-star fired!

No! This can't be happening…

* * *

Ren was sitting stiffly on the chair across President Takarada in his usual over-decorated office.

As soon as he got home last night, he'd gotten a call from him personally about a meeting first thing this morning. He had a pretty good idea of what this was going to be about. With how he's been, he was prepared to take the consequences. It was annoying having to wait. Knowing the President, he would be asking a lot of questions. He felt like he was being stretched out on a rack, but the President was taking his time preparing...

"Ren," the President began with a super low voice. "Shingai-kun informed me that there has been a lot of problems in the Kismet production. Most of them centering around the erratic performance you and Mogami-kun have been giving."

Now that he thought about it, Mogami-san's performance would have been affected by his. So this problem isn't just his. The President would most likely talk to her too, right? He made a mental note to apologize and explain to her later – without letting her talk since she has the tendency to move the conversation to another direction.

"When Kismet was on the beginning stages of production, Shingai-kun only had one person to play female lead in mind: Mogami-kun," the President stated. "The offer for female lead was singularly given to her. And this being her movie debut, a strong cast is selected, which is why offers have only been made to the top actors in the country for male lead." Then he smiled and said with vast amusement. "To be honest, you were on the bottom of the list of considerations for male lead."

"Eh?" He was at the bottom? Why?

"Don't take it the wrong way," the President elaborated. "It should be taken a compliment. You were offered the role when the casting director came out and said, 'What the heck? Couldn't hurt to try.' It's not that they didn't want you. They were thrilled to have you. But your status as an actor has grown leaps and bounds since last year so there were actually no expectation that you were going to accept. But as one would have it, you were the first one to accept."

What the hell? Ren momentarily lapsed because of the President's words. How was he expected to improve in is craft if the roles are now choosing him as though he's a newbie? Well, the roles are bigger, but still…

"Shingai-kun thinks you and Mogami-kun have no screen chemistry," the President slammed his palm on the table, trying to get his attention. "Which is actually strange considering that this is the girl you've been in love with for a long time already."

"I-It shouldn't really matter either way," Ren said, knowing that he was digging his own grave by saying it. "I should have been able to do the job."

"Well, it's to be expected," the President leaned back against his chair.

"Expected?" What did the man mean by that? Didn't he just say that his acting skills have grown?

"'Let me guess…" the President smiled wryly. "'Whatever she's telling me are nothing more than words in the script.'

"'I'm not Satoshi and she is not Chiaki.'

"'I shouldn't let myself get carried away.'"

Really… is this guy having him followed around? Or maybe he wired something in his head to know what he's thinking that much???

"You're a very intelligent person, you should already know this," the President said. "The difference between Katsuki and Satoshi? The difference between suppressing the love he has for the woman he desires the most against doing everything to get her. Compared to a deep romance like Dark Moon, Kismet is too light-hearted to be even considered a challenge."

Ren remained silent. He knew that, which was what made it so difficult.

"If it was any other actress, this wouldn't have been so difficult, wouldn't it?"

It was not the first time he'd realized it. If the person who was playing Chiaki wasn't Mogami-san, he wouldn't have such a problem with it. That's right. His consciousness to separate Satoshi from himself made his own performance seem distant and aloof. "I-It shouldn't have made a difference either way," Ren said with honesty. "I should have been able to do it regardless of who the actress is."

"You're working on other roles far more complicated and complex than Satoshi, and yet Kismet is the one you are having the most difficulty with," the President said matter-of-factly. He smirked. "After all this time, you're still lacking in acting love."

Ren looked at the President in disbelief. All this time, he thought that he has overcome that with Katsuki.

"Ren, don't you understand?" the President looked at him grimly. "Shingai-kun wants you ou-"

* * *

Takarada Lory was cut off by loud voices from outside his door. Considering the distance, that was quite an outburst.

The doors flew open and Mogami-kun stalked in with his receptionist in tow.

"Mogami-san…?" Ren turned to her, his eyes wide with surprise.

"I'm so sorry, sir!" his receptionist bowed. "Mogami-san has been very persistent even though I told her you were in a meeting."

His attention then turned to Mogami-kun who was in her school uniform, her hair unkempt, sweat running down her face and her bag haphazardly hanging on her shoulder. Totally unbecoming of a rising star. Her posture and overall appearance were awful. The very sight of her made him want to cry.

"P-P-President," she panted, trying to catch her breath, and then shouted, "It-it's not Tsuruga-san's fault! I'm the one responsible for the problems in the Kismet production!"

Lory's eyes widened. "What do you mean by that?" He glanced over at Ren, who was only staring at Mogami-kun like an idiot with his mouth gaped open and all.

She looked like she was bracing herself from something terrible before bowing low. "I'm the one who has been having problems with the proper characterization of Chiaki. Tsuruga-san is doing very well with Satoshi. But as a newbie talent, I am unable to catch up with his level of acting. That's why he is unable to respond well to my Chiaki." She maintained her long low bow as she continued, "Tsuruga-san even came to the point of adjusting his acting in order to accommodate mine."

Eeeps… she had been thinking that the whole time? Shingai-kun never mentioned once that she was the problem. According to the director, even when Ren was doing badly, she was still acting accordingly to suit his moods.

"You see…" Ah, she wasn't finished. And she was still bowing. "This last test is to see if I've overcome my hurdle that got me into the Love Me Section. But I don't think I have! I still haven't grasped 'love' no matter how much I think about it. I am incapable of acting it out consciously. So the person who deserves to be pulled out of the movie is me. I'll stay one more year in the Love Me Section or until you say I am ready to take the test again. I still have a very long way to go to overcome my hurdle. So please… there's no need to pull Tsuruga-san out."

His eyes widened as Mogami-san started to sink on the floor on her way to what Lory thought was to do a dogeza. That was a little too much to get her point across, but Ren quickly got on his feet and stopped her. "There's no need to get on your knees, Mogami-san," he said, gripping her shoulders to stop her. "You don't have to go that fa-"

And in her half-standing, half-kneeling position, she turned to him and said in an exhausted tone. "It's not that. I'm tired."

"Tired?" Lory and Ren asked in unison.

"I think my legs are giving out from running here from school," she said, straightening up, but leaning her hands on Ren's forearm for support.

"You ran here, Mogami-kun?" Lory asked with disbelief in his voice. Then he noticed that her legs were shaking.

"You didn't bring your bike?" Ren asked.

Mogami-kun started at him for a moment then slapped her hands against her cheeks and squeezed her face. "I have a bike!"

Lory's eyes widened. Mogami-kun really ran here from her school? That's more than just a few blocks away.

"You're overdoing it again, Mogami-san," Ren sternly scolded. "Really… what would have happened if you tripped or fell or got ran over or something? That would have gotten you into trouble."

She looked apologetic and kept bowing her head profusely at Ren. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I heard. I was just at the school building entrance so I didn't even think. I didn't know what I was doing. I did it impulsively and unconsciously! I just didn't want you to be fired because of my shortcomings."

As Mogami-san babbled on and kept on bowing her head repeatedly, Ren turned his head away from her and in full view of Lory.

And Lory saw THAT look again.

He smiled. He got it now. Ren was content having her think about him. An almost-impossible-to-achieve unconscious thought from the girl he loves. Especially since the girl in question could openly admit to being incapable of consciously acting out love.

What a stupid guy. Up until now, he still hadn't realized that one of these days, it would no longer be enough. Someday, he would start looking for a more tangible thing. Unless he let himself go or enabled himself to separate his character from his own self, he would never be able to play Satoshi opposite Mogami-kun.

Lory smiled and said, "Mogami-kun, why don't you straighten up? I just need to ask Ren one more question."

"But Tsuruga-san-" she protested.

"Get yourself freshened up," he interrupted. "So Ren can get on his way to the Kismet set after dropping you off school. We don't want the female lead delaying production because she'll be at school serving detention."

Lory's eyes softened as she let out a happy smile. She bowed again and cried out, "Thank you very much!" That smile on her face told him that his instincts have never proven him wrong. Whoever said that this girl was incapable of ever feeling and showing love? It would be astounding to see what it would be like when she realized it herself.

"Let's go, Mogami-san?" the receptionist asked.

"OK!" she said enthusiastically as she straightened up and followed the receptionist out of the office.

Lory turned to Ren and smiled mischievously, since the idiot still had that look on his face. "Now Ren…"

And the young actor's face changed to a dry, exasperated look as he frowned. Well, Ren should know by now that he wasn't not going to get away with just that.

That was, after all, how he loves all of his children.

* * *

Executive Producers are a pain in the ass.

They inject money into a project, wanting something accomplished. But once a whim of theirs came out, they would demand a change to suit their wants. Leaving the creative types like actors, writers and directors to adjust.

Shingai Seiji sulked at the studio's large cafeteria in deep thought as he waited for his assistant director to fetch him once Tsuruga-kun arrived.

Last night, President Takarada insisted on having a word with Tsuruga-kun first to check if he can be satisfied enough to let him continue on with the movie. And he'd just received a call from the man saying that Tsuruga-kun will stay in the production. But the President/Executive Producer said that if the first scene he performed with Kyoko-chan on their next scheduled shoot continued to be unsatisfactory, Seiji could fire him on the spot.

Well, it made Seiji half-relieved. After his creative side raged, his practical side made him realize that nearly half of the movie had been completed – including shoots at two very expensive locations (the mansion for Yumemi's wedding and the hotel for the omiai) with Tsuruga-kun in both. Practicality dictated that it's nearly impossible to re-shoot the movie unless they go very, very over-budget. Practicality leads to the death of art.

Seiji didn't have a problem with Tsuruga-kun. He was a great actor. Even with many takes, he and Kyoko-chan were still able to produce great results. But the Tsuruga Ren that he was used to working with did everything in one take – apart from slight mishaps rarely caused by himself. He interacted well acting with Satoshi's parents, his friends… What gave him such an unbalanced performance afterwards when it involved Kyoko-chan?

"Shingai-kun?" a soft voice called from behind him.

He whirled his head and saw "Ogata-kun…"

"It's been a while," Ogata Hiroaki smiled.

"It has," he nodded.

Ogata answered. "I was passing by Lot 4 and saw that Kismet is going to be shooting here."

"You're shooting your new movie too, aren't you?" Ogata-kun nodded. "I have a question."

"Eh?"

"How did Tsuruga-kun and Kyoko-chan get along," Shingai asked curiously. "I'm just wondering if there were any problems with scenes between them?"

The delicate-looking director laughed. "Well, they certainly scared me when they do their darker scenes. But when I heard that you got them for Kismet, I was beside myself that something might happen."

"Happen?"

"Well," Ogata-kun leaned forward and said in a near whisper. "Maybe it's just me, but I always thought that Tsuruga-kun might have been in love with Kyoko-chan. But then, I got confused about the whole thing because Fuwa-kun came into the picture and… Well, I'm not really sure about what his relationship with Kyoko-chan is. After that, well… Fuwa-kun never came back and everything went back as they were." His cheeks turned pink. "Ah… Gosh! I think I said too much."

"Tsuruga-kun…" Seiji repeated in disbelief. "…is in love with Kyoko-chan, but Fuwa Sho came into the picture and… nothing happened?" Now that that factor was in the equation, everything seemed to be making sense.

"T-that's just a guess," Ogata-kun said defensively. "Maybe it's just the romantic in me. But I just started thinking about it again when I saw the article on Boost this morning. Haruki thinks it's the opposite though – she thinks it was Kyoko-chan and Fuwa-kun, then Tsuruga-kun came into the picture."

"What article?"

* * *

Two men rushed out of the PR Department and stopped, waiting for the elevator, each of them holding a late release copy of Boost Magazine.

"This is all that girl's fault," Matsushima-kun muttered.

"Don't I know it," Sawara Takenori answered. "But how was I supposed to know that Fuwa Sho was also going to be at the Tokyo Imperial Herald?"

"This is going to be a disaster," Matsushima-kun agonized as they entered the empty elevator car. "I can't believe that after being exposed to more popular people for more than a year since the audition, that girl's obsession for Fuwa Sho still hasn't died down."

"Well, you better get used to it," Takenori answered smugly. "Because in a few months, she'll be all yours."

Matsushima-kun's face fell. But he recovered quickly since they had more pressing problems than that. "So what are we going to do about this?" He raised the magazine to Takenori's face. "First, he's at the brink of getting fired - thank God only a handful of people know about it right now - and now this. Ren has never been the subject of gossip and the first time he is, it has to be something like this. And it has to involve one of own. How are we going to do damage control over this?"

"That's why we're going to the President, right?" Long ago, instructions was given out to them and the PR Department that all undesirable news about LME's top actors and actresses be directed to the President. Most especially, anything concerning Ren.

When the elevator reached the floor of the President's floor, they stalked out, ignored the receptionist, and barged into the President's office - where they found him cuddled on his chair, staring out the window, giggling like a little girl.

"Sir…" The two directors said in a dry tone.

The President looked up at them, surprised but unashamed, saying, "What is it about people in this place that they just barge into my office without going through my receptionist anymore?"

"Ren's not here anymore?" Matsushima-kun looked around.

"Nope," the President smiled widely. "He had to drive Mogami-kun to school, otherwise, she'd be late for her second class."

Takenori heard a girly scream. It came from his mouth. "She was here?"

"They're together?" Matsushima-kun cried in despair.

"What?" the President asked when the two men groaned.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- I don't understand why the lot of you guys would ever think I would fire Ren-sama! And for Sho too!!! - Where in heck did the Sho will replace Ren come from??? Did I make any indication of it??? O_O I'm perplexed. If Shingai was going to hire Sho, he might as well keep a badly-performing Ren! The title of this fic is "The Co-Star Killer" hellow… ^^ To be honest, I expected more violent reactions, but I am shocked a some of you thought it great that Ren was getting fired! LOL… you are the most awesome group of readers ever! No one even thought of poor Kyoko-chan!

- Adjustment: The Official Fanbook spelled Shingai's first name as Seiji not Seishi – the little quotation mark-like thing between the last hiragana character made the all difference between 'ji' and 'shi'. Seishi was used in the scanlations, which I followed. So I changed all the Seishis to Seijis.

- Non-adjustment: If you're wondering why I changed Seiji and not Kuu's, The fanbook did spell "Kuu" as "Koo" in romaji. But his profile specifies that name is actually spelled as "Kū" (クー Ku with a long U) not or "Kō" (コー Ko with a long O). I like Kuu better so I didn't change it – and because that's how it's supposed to be pronounced.

- OK… Japanese lesson endeth. Please don't forget to review, whether you love it or hate chapter or not. And please, don't comment on my notes. Those are notes. Review the story.

- Next chapter is going to be up in a couple of days, if anyone's still interested... -_-'''


	12. Chapter 12: Ren's Stolen Title

**Chapter Twelve**

**Acknowledgment & Dedication:** Bloody_Rose021 for beta. I added more stuff because I'm just that beligerent. But you're awesomeness when it comes to our chats really fuels the creative juices XD

Disclaimers apply.

* * *

The receptionist situated outside the office of the President of Akatoki Agency jumped in surprise when the door bounced against the wall and the red-faced man stalked out.

"Call Shoko-san! I want Fuwa Sho in my office within the hour!"

* * *

The ride to school was quiet.

Kyoko wished she declined, but she was already late – equivalent to cutting classes, which can get her into trouble at school. But the President told her when she came back that he'd call the school to say that she had to get to the office for important business at work. But in order not to delay her, he asked Tsuruga-san to drive her to school before heading for the Kismet set. The last thing she wanted to do was to spend the morning inside the car with the Demon Lord.

She turned to Tsuruga-san and he still had that set look on his face.

Was he angry? Her rage antennae weren't popping out, but he was clearly displeased about something. The tense mood in the car is clearly coming from him.

Maybe being asked to do mundane things like chauffer her around annoys him. Superstars like him can't just be asked to do things like that. Well, it was the President's orders so even he couldn't oppose that, but...

That was his question??? Ren thought unpleasantly as he turned left to a side street away from major road traffic.

He almost got fired and that was the President's question???

"Ren, you're a very boring man so you would have a lot of things in common with Seiichi. So can you tell me: If you were a sick boy who hadn't come to school in three days, when a girl visits to check up on you, would you like her to: a.) kiss you, b.) play with your hair or c.) pinch your nose."

He didn't remember what he answered. He was too dumbfounded by the question. And who is Seiichi anyway?

After that, the President told him that he's getting off with a warning. Then he was ordered to drive Mogami-san to school so she would make it by her second class. After that happened for the last two days, being alone with her is not exactly the situation he wanted to be thrown into right away. He has a lot to make up for and he's still trying to make sense of everything that happened that he's only started thinking up of ways to make it up to her.

"Ummm…" She spoke the same time he said, "Why-"

"Er…" she said hesitantly. "Go ahead."

He took the offer and asked, "Why did you risk getting fired to keep me from getting pulled out of Kismet?"

"Huh?"

"This is your movie debut," Ren continued. "You should have an idea how hard it is to get this chance. You may never have that again – people will think you're incapable by backing out."

From the corner of his eye, he saw her eyes widened. "Urgh! I never thought about it that way."

"Mogami-san," he sighed. "You are still too impulsive. What would have happened if the President accepted what you said?"

"But," she answered. "You could have been sacked! You don't want to get fired at my expense, do you?"

"I don't want to get fired for the same reason anyone doesn't want to get fired," he explained. Actually, it would be the worst thing that could happen considering his traumas with such experiences. But considering the way he's been performing for the last two days, it wasn't going to be a surprise. When the President called up last night, he started mentally preparing for it. He felt awful. She went through a lot in the last two days because of him, peaking to what she did earlier at the President's office. But it warmed his heart. He never realized that she would go so far for him. "Because that would mean that you are incapable of doing the job."

"But you're not incapable!" She exclaimed, determination reflected in her eyes. "You're actually doing a lot better than I am. Yesterday, in the function rooms, when we were playing the omiai scenes, that was the first time, since we started filming Chiaki and Satoshi's scenes, Chiaki felt that she was really, really in love with Satoshi."

She said it so simply. But for a split second, the sentence threw Ren completely off-guard, and for the second time in his life, he lost control of the wheel. He recovered quickly though but not before the car skidded through some bushes that hid a tall wall and a terrified scream came out of Mogami-san.

"You almost ran into it!" she shouted, her face red as she clutched her chest.

"S-Sorry," he distractedly answered, now keeping his eyes fixed on the road. He worriedly looked towards her from the corner of his eye "Are you OK?"

"And all this time, I always believed that you were a safe driver!" she breathed out. Then she continued to mumble. "My life seriously flashed before my eyes. It was so short! I don't want to die yet!"

"I'm sorry," he said again. Crap, he almost killed her.

"I'm fine," she said worriedly. But she smiled nervously. "You already apologized, right? Just don't do that again. We're not in one of your dramas so no more stunts, please."

"I won't," he promised. Then he phone rang and he dug into his pocket.

"You're not really going to answer that, are you?" Mogami-san asked, eyeing him evilly. "You almost threw us off the road and we're still talking about work."

"But it could be-" Now that he thought about it, the office never calls him. They always routed the calls to Yashiro-san. He never picked up the phone for anyone during the daytime. And if it was Yashiro-san who was calling, Ren knew his manager would never forgive him if Ren allowed him to interrupt time with Mogami-san. "You're right." He pressed the phone to silence the ringing and placed it back in his pocket.

"Anyway," he coughed, trying to divert the topic back. "It's not like I'm off the hook yet. If Director Shingai is not satisfied with the first scene we film, the director can fire me on the spot."

"What?!" she cried out.

"That's the deal that the President and I made," Ren shrugged. Actually, it was pretty much a one-sided deal. Despite the old man's promises that he will never help him with anything work-related, Ren actually felt like he had.

"B-b-but…" she stammered. "Why just like that? Why can't we go through another acting test? Why is it as simple as that?"

"You know how he is," Ren answered. Actually, it would have better if it was an acting test. But the President said that it wasn't necessary. It was not a characterization issue so an acting test would be a waste of time to the starting-to-become-backlogged production.

"So that's why we have to talk about it now," Mogami-san answered. "Tsuruga-san, so a mess like this wouldn't happen again, I want to know how you want to play Satoshi so I can catch up when I play Chiaki."

"Eh?" he turned to her.

"Tsuruga-san…" she looked at him, looking totally guilty and contrite. "Yesterday was a fluke. The reason why our scenes in the early afternoon were good is only because I gave up on my interpretation of Chiaki and went on responding and reacting to how you were portraying Satoshi. But I don't want to act like that. You have to tell me how you want to play Satoshi so I can create a suitable Chiaki that can stand on her own."

Meaning that the reason why the scenes after the lobby scenes became bad that even the director started scolding her. She was following how he was acting, which was driven by his mood. The other day, only he was the one who was scolded because she was playing her own creation of Chiaki.

"I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "I made you worry a lot, didn't I?"

"Huh?"

Under normal circumstances, Ren would have given anyone full disclosure. But… Ren turned to her and said, "The last couple of days must have been hard on you… I think. You should play Chiaki the way you want to play her."

"But-"

"Don't worry about a thing," Ren assured her as he turned the corner. "Like I said, act Chiaki the way you think she should. Everything will be fine. I don't think I will have problems acting alongside that. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

She gave him a deadpan look and drawled, "You could get fired by Director Shingai and everything that we worked so hard for in this movie will be shelved."

Ah. "Well," he smiled as he slowed the car to a stop in front of her school. "We'll just have to make sure that won't happen, right? The two of us will just have to be so in love with each other that the director won't have anymore complaints, right?"

He turned to her and found her eyes narrowed, her cheeks puffed and her mouth was downturned to a frown. There have been some times that she had this reaction towards him. And those were times when he's happy – was there something wrong with that?

But she looked so cute as he stared at her for another second.

And on the next second, he reached out his hand and leaned towards her.

"Ah!" Kyoko exclaimed as she looked around the familiar surroundings. "We're here!" She laughed nervously. "You don't have to open the door for me, Tsuruga-san. You could have just told me!" She said as she slipped her bag on her shoulder and placed her hand on the door. Just before opening it, she turned back to him and smiled at him. "I'll see you later then, right?"

Tsuruga-san who was halfway through leaning forward to open the door for her, stopped, and just looked at her with wide eyes before finally saying, "Yeah, I'll see you later."

And with that, she stepped out of the car.

That was weird. For a second there she thought that Tsuruga-san was going to kiss her. But that was just totally ridiculous. Why would he? She was starting to think weird things again. Just because that smile that flashed divine light came forth once again.

Of course, she's suffering from vain thinking again. He wasn't going to kiss her. Why would he want to!? Who the hell does she think she is? He was opening the door for her because her temporary blindness disabled her from realizing that they were already in front of the school. Of course, he was opening the door for her. It was only logical. Tsuruga-san is very strict when it comes to time. He didn't want her to be late for class and he didn't want to delay the shoot waiting for him. After all, they were just talking about something unpleasant like getting fired just now. That's never a good prelude to something absurd like that. Anyways, if it wasn't for the movie, he wouldn't have any reason to kiss her!

She started walking towards the school gate where a teacher was waiting for her to get inside as the car behind her drove away.

Well… at least, if Tsuruga-san is put out a face like that… Then they shouldn't have any problems with the shoot anymore, she thought as she stood still in the middle of the sidewalk between the street and the school gate.

"Kyoko-san!" someone called to her. She turned and saw a three men walking up to her asking questions like, "Do you have any comment about yesterday?" "Who was the man inside the car?" and "Was that Tsuruga Ren or Fuwa Sho or someone else?"

Eh? Are those… reporters?

"Kyoko-san!" the teacher urgently called out. "Get inside now!"

She immediately obeyed and as the teacher closed the gate, he said, "If you have any questions for Kyoko-san, please go through her agency. Please do not disrupt her or the other students' classes."

Eh? What was that?

Kyoko walked the hallways of the school to get to class, knowing that people's eyes were trailing after her.

So it was strange to have Tsuruga-san drop her off in front of the school. Well, his car is heavily tinted and she got out fast enough for anyone not to notice who was driving. She really shouldn't have let him have his way, she thought depressed. She didn't want to have to make needless explanations. Well, at least she gets out at noon for the Box "R" shoot.

When she got in the classroom for the Performing Arts students, all eyes turned to her. Oh great, now she has to deal with these people. She turned to the faces of the people who can easily turn on you because you had a bigger role or a better contract – she met the girls' piercing gazes and the boys' looks of… interest? They looked like they were sizing her up or something.

What the hell is going on?

No, no… She was once again suffering from vain thinking. Like anyone would be interested in her. She certainly knew that she wasn't giving off that vibe.

"Oi," Nanokura Mimori came up to her. She had a rolled up magazine in her hand. Kyoko was shocked, but… she has a bag. It's better weapon than that. "Sho-chan told me that you're just a total stranger who grew up with him."

"Huh?"

"If that's true, why is he following you around?" She unrolled the magazine and Kyoko's eyes widened.

* * *

Boost Magazine reported that...

_Kismet's female lead, Kyoko-san, was caught in between a scuffle between the movie's male lead, Tsuruga Ren-san, and pop star, Fuwa Sho-san, when the singer barged in the middle of the shoot just to see the actress. Kyoko-san and Fuwa-san got into an argument about the interruption of the shoot. And Tsuruga-san came up to them to bodily remove Kyoko-san away from the musician._

_Boost Magazine can also confirm that Tsuruga-san has been after the actress for several months now, starting from the time the actor starred in another Shingai movie, Ring Doh, where the actress had no part in. Kyoko-san was reported to have been at that place recuperating from a broken leg when Director Shingai-san scouted her. Since they have performed in Dark Moon and are in the same agency, LME, none of their sources in either place can confirm that any of the actor's advances have succeeded and the actress only considers the actor as a friend._

_There are unconfirmed reports that Fuwa Sho-san has been going after Kyoko-san since they performed together in the singer's single, Prisoner. Most notably, how the singer visited the Dark Moon set several times and have been spotted in Karuizawa together when Dark Moon went on-location and Fuwa-san was there to record is album. But considering that they often found fighting with each other, it seems that he's been rejected many times by the actress many times as well…_

* * *

It was filled with baseless facts, a lot of made-up stuff and lack journalistic integrity. But it's to be expected with a gossip rag like Boost.

"Ren," Yashiro-san said, setting down a bottle of water in front of him. "Whoever wrote this has a beef against you. What happened?"

Ren ignored him and continued to read the article that twisted a lot of the facts. When he got on the set, Yashiro-san was panicking because there was something bad written about him in Boots. Concerned what it would have been about, he grabbed the magazine from his manager's hands and was shocked by the headline: Co-Star Killer In Trouble! with a picture of Fuwa, Mogami-san and himself at the hotel lobby yesterday and another smaller one of them from before when he was working on Ring Doh.

"You didn't even pick up my call," Yashiro-san continued. "I know you usually don't pick up calls during the day time. But at a critical time like getting fired and having bad gossip about you, you should."

Ren scanned the section that said that he is a lovesick puppy who got to Mogami-san first but she seemed to be too in love with acting than to waste time on two immature boys on a playground fight. There is a long description of some made-up things about Ren's repeated failed attempts to get together with Mogami-san.

"Ren, I'm glad that you didn't get fired from the movie, but you have to tell me these things. I won't care if you call me at two in the morning for it. I need to know how to manage the risks and mobilize damage control," Yashiro-san continued even though Ren knew that he knew that he was being ignored. "Think about it Ren! You're going to be in Kimagure Rock tonight!"

Nothing in the article seems damaging to Mogami-san's reputation. If nothing else, it made her sound like an unattainable goddess of acting being chased after by devout worshipers.

"I mean, what are we going to do?" his manager continued, but it all sounded far away to Ren. "Matsushima-san said that the President thinks that this is a personal matter of yours that you should take care of it yourself. So we really have to talk about it."

But it was the last line that made him laugh out loud, drop the magazine and slapped the table.

'_Boost is still checking with sources in Box "R", but it seems that the title of "Co-Star Killer" has been stolen away from Tsuruga Ren-san by the seventeen-year old newbie actress_.'

"But in the interest of protecting Kyoko-chan's image, the instructions are that unless it's for the movie shoot and other work-related business or within the walls of LME, you're generally not allowed to go around Kyoko-chan."

Ren broke out of his laughing stupor and stared at Yashiro-san for the first time. "What?"

"Now, I wanna ask you," Yashiro-san crossed his arms, his forehead wrinkled. "Why did you let Kotonami-san rearrange your schedule for the next week and a half and remove some of your free time that's meant to be spent in LME?"

"Eh?" Ren answered, trying to sound logical. "Because it seemed efficient that way. I gave her a hundred points for that." Well, that on top of giving him a good scolding but Yashiro-san didn't need to know that. Of course, she made him skip lunch – which he now knew to be the basic instructions to anyone who would be his temporary manager – and lost her temper at him, so he had to be fair and deduct points. "Dropping off LME for an hour or two seemed a little impractical since we generally have no business there. What do you mean I can't come near Mogami-san outside of work?"

* * *

Hah! Take that, Tsuruga Ren. After years if not getting anything off him, he now looks like a romantic failure and loser that can't even get a cute-type girl. So much for his image where is flawless and smooth moves always gets him the girl…

But of course, his editor wasn't satisfied. Because he only had three hours to finish the story, the little research he made about the backgrounds of the relationship of the three people involved, he had to rely on his creativity. But now that the story is considered hot, he now has to dig up more on what got the three so worked up when in the presence of each other.

* * *

"What the hell is this???"

Sho glanced at the magazine article that was came out in late release that day. He was just as pissed as the President of Akatoki Agency. "That's nothing but a load of bull," he answered. He read that stupid article too. What did they mean that Tsuruga got to her first? He was there first – she was the one who chased after him relentlessly.

"Sho," the President said. "If you're gonna go after a girl in public, at least win. This may be a gossip rag, but it still has a wide readership. They can twist the truth until it hurt so you have to make whatever happened irrefutably obvious." He sighed. "Well… this is a small chink in the armor, but it's still a chink. I really hope that girl was worth it…"

Sho just stared at the President. She is.

"…Or there will be hell to pay for just to rebuild that reputation of yours as a legend. What kind of legend can't get the girl in the end?"

"I know."

"And why her?" the President looked at picture in the article. "After the Prisoner shoot, Mimori-chan always whined about how the make-up artists favoring her that that they made her stand out more than her. To think you can't even win over a girl like that…" He shook his head and sighed. "Is she even that good? I only saw her as scary in Dark Moon… I still haven't seen that other drama of hers." He set down the magazine and turned to him. "Anyway, the music exec read this and called me up."

Sho stiffened. Crap…

"He liked that you have such passion for life… and girls," the President sighed. "Honestly, he was babbling on something about how if you can show the same amount of passion for music, he'll build you as a legend beyond bounds."

Sho just stared at him as the man smiled. "Maybe when you get there, you can reclaim and win over this so-called 'Co-Star Killer' of yours."

* * *

"I don't see what the problem is," the President of LME shrugged as he set down the magazine and leaned back against the chair inside the limo.

"You don't see…?" Takenori asked helplessly. "Eh?"

"Mogami-kun is debuting," the President declared grandly. "If she has been labeled as the actress who was able to steal away Ren's reputation as a 'Co-Star Killer', people will be more intrigued and interested in her. Not such a bad thing, is it?"

Well, Takenori thought. It does make sense.

"But what about Ren?" Matsushima-san asked nervously. "Never mind that pop star, but what about him???"

"Ren is already 21 and is already an actor outside the league of most," the President smiled. "His reputation and image is now supposed to be projected as someone more worldly. If he does not have a more mature image to show the public to capture a more mature audience in addition to maintaining his current aging audience, his shelf life won't last 5-6 years."

"Ah…" Takenori and Matsushima-san said in unison.

"Of course," the President said practically, grinning. "Everything has to be downplayed. No one really wants to know that Ren is a bumbling, boring idiot who can't win a girl's heart."

"Yeah," Matsushima-san nodded. "We already gave the instruction to Yashiro-kun. They got to the school early enough that only a few reporters guessed that where Mogami-kun goes to school. Also, the magazine was released a little later than usual."

"Yeah, I had someone in the office make the arrangements so nothing can bother Mogami-kun's busy schedule today," Takenori added. "But why even put in Ren being in love with Mogami-kun into the equation? Why did Boots even think it?" Because of it, the only real way Ren could recover from this would be... No, no, no... Really, why would Ren even look at someone as weird as Mogami-kun unless it's was for her already-obvious talent that everyone wanted nurtured?

"You two," the President pouted at them, "are still a bunch of boring bores without any imagination. Think about that on our way to Kotonami-kun's shoot. Those girls are debuting together. Now that Mogami-kun has this title hanging over her head, I want something just as fabulous for Kotonami-kun."

* * *

**  
Chapter Notes:**

- This chapter is so long. This chappie is a little over 4,500 words. There are too many people's point-of-view to look into. And we're not even at Director Shingai - that won't come until Chapter 14 because Ren still has Kimagure Rock in the evening (i.e. next chapter).

- And yes, Kyoko did say that Chiaki was in love with Satoshi. Take it however you want :3 It'll be explained in succeeding chapters.

- Don't tell me that Ren is incapable of losing control of the wheel. In Chapter 67, Ren and Yashiro were in a similar distracting situation.

- The article is not what a lot of you thought huh? Well, everyone should know already that I love anti-climaxes. Besides, the reporter only had a small window to write the article. Like what I told mouseter, the keyword is creative writing. He still has a lot of digging up to do XD

- Again, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I hope I still get some more! I really appreciate the feedback everyone gives. ^^ Next chapter will be out next week.


	13. Chapter 13: Kyoko's BOoboo

**Chapter Thirteen/Omake:**

**Notes:** This chapter may or may not have an impact on the overall story. It was written for the heck of it.

**Acknowledgment:** Bloody_Rose021 for beta-reading and the OOC check. Also to Ecki for the second opinion for OOC check ^^

Disclaimers applied.

* * *

As a force of habit, Kyoko was hanging out inside Bridge Rock's dressing room, laughing at a joke Shinichi-san said about the Boost article.

"Please, I'm begging you guys," Kyoko groaned as she chewed through her regular anpan. Even though she was no longer on a diet, she was still unable to eat the okonomi-anpan the onii-sans likes so much. The smell made her mouth water, but she saw calories just by looking at it. "Please don't ask him about that. As a favor for me. Pretty please."

"Oh c'mon Kyoko-chan, it'll be fun…" Yuusei-san smirked. "We'll get out all sorts of secrets from Tsuruga-san."

"Yeah…" Hikaru-san wryly replied. "And risk getting fired for a stupid article in an obvious gossip rag." He stood behind her and smiled down. "Right, Kyoko-chan?"

"Shortie," Shinichi-san coughed.

"What did you call me!?!?" Hikaru-san cried out, looking like a helpless girl being bullied.

Before anyone could make any more of a fuss, the assistant director knocked and opened the door. "Bridge, there's- Ah, Kyoko-chan, shouldn't you be getting ready?"

Kyoko looked at the clock and exclaimed, "Ah, yeah!" She jumped off the table where she was seated, dusting her hands. "I'll see you guys," she bowed. She smiled up at Hikaru-san and tried to soothe the idol. "Don't worry, Hikaru-san, you're still taller than me. That's for sure."

"O…O-K," Hikaru-san smiled uneasily.

"Alright," she smiled. "I'm off!"

"See you, Kyoko-chan!" Yuusei-san and Shinichi-san called out.

She rushed to the dressing rooms, passing through the back as she found it to be a convenient rather than the maze she had to go through on the regular hallway.

After that creepy rumor on the tabloids today, it seemed kinda odd that she'd be seeing Tsuruga-san so soon. She had already left a message in his voice mail apologizing for it. She thought it would be much nicer if he had at least tonight to get over it. She certainly did.

'You're great, Kyoko,' she scolded herself. In only one day, Tsuruga-san would come out of this, battered and bruised, just because of her. The first one this morning with the President, they were able to iron out. The second one… was a little bit beyond her control. Now this is an undeniable blemish on Tsuruga-san's record, which had been perfectly clean before he had ever met her.

Sawara-san had called her earlier, just before she'd left school for her Box "R" job, informing her that she would be hounded if she walked around alone in the streets, so LME was taking the necessary steps to take care of her. She was also told that outside of work, she cannot be seen around Tsuruga-san – or Shotaro (like she would). Otherwise, it would just fuel more gossip about them. The only good thing about the whole thing was that the rumors were good publicity for the movie.

She disliked it, but Sawara-san said that she had to get used to it since she was debuting, but it came too suddenly and she was still having a hard time adjusting to it. She felt a little guilty about all the trouble that people in LME were going through because of her. She'd been beating the clock for most of the day. She hadn't even gotten out of her Natsu get-up because she was almost late getting back to LME and after finishing there, she had had to run to TBM for Kimagure Rock.

Even the Ishibashi-oniisans were not allowed to talk about it that much. As far as she knew, they were given only a series of instructions from LME's upper management regarding handling Tsuruga-san and that rumor tonight: Only enough to satisfy the live audience and everyone else who'd be watching from their homes, and to handle Tsuruga-san's image with care. But the onii-sans assured her that it always happens, especially if the guest was a very big celebrity like Tsuruga-san.

* * *

Ren was walking through the hallways of TBM Studios as exercise after an early dinner with his manager in his dressing room. He was in such good spirits that he didn't notice that he'd finished everything in the packed dinner the show had provided until his stomach suddenly became heavy.

If he was starting to become like his father… No, that could never happen. His mother had made sure of that when he was five or six.

Anyway, there was still an hour before shooting for Kimagure Rock started. He'd promised Yashiro-san to be back in twenty minutes. Although, that didn't seem to be long enough to get away from his pesky, meddling manager.

On the way to TBM Studios, Yashiro-san had asked him why he didn't seemed bothered by the rumors – he was made out to be a romantic loser (which he is, according to his manager), but the public didn't need to know that. He'd evaded the question by answering that at least the rumors weren't damaging to Mogami-san. Yashiro-san seemed satisfied enough and, being him, teased him mercilessly.

But the truth was, it could have been worse. It could have been about his past – things he'd worked so hard to cover-up by coming to Japan. So a simple thing like being labeled as a "romantic loser", and being stripped of his "co-star killer" title didn't seem so bad. It's not like he cared about either of the titles anyway. And after what she'd done for him earlier today, this was nothing.

As he turned the corner in a secluded hallway, walking towards him with his squeaky feet was his friend the chicken. He smiled, "You!"

The chicken stopped in his tracks and turned around, pointing at himself. Ren smiled and walked up towards him. "It's been a while."

"Umm…" the muffled voice answered. The chicken struggled with his whiteboard and pen.

"Oh, come on," Ren chuckled. "You're not talking to me anymore? What's with the whiteboard and pen."

"O…OK," the chicken answered. Then Ren raised an eyebrow as his friend really went for the whiteboard. 'You're a guest tonight. If I talk to the guests, I'm only supposed to use the whiteboard.'

"Alright fine," Ren rolled his eyes. At least, he's taking his job seriously compared to the time he'd first met him. But they weren't not exactly on stage right now. "But do you have time? There's something I want to ask you."

'Sure.'

When the chicken's creepy, unblinking wide eyes looked at him expectantly. He opened his mouth only to hesitate, then shifted, crossing and uncrossing his arms. He didn't really know how to word it so he just asked, "Do you think it's… wrong, if I want to be with… the girl I'm in love with?"

'The fangirls will never forgive you.'

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not talking about the fans." Before the chicken could erase his last message, he continued in a quiet voice, "I mean, I already said it before, right? With the way I am right now, I can't be with someone important to me. I'm twenty-one. She's seventeen. We're both far too busy. Neither of us are ready to be in a relationship. But I want to be with her anyway."

His friend raised the board saying 'If she's hot, why not???' complete with a smiley face at the end.

What the hell?! "You really like saying things that that are so…" Ren's temper flared, stepped forward and grabbed his head. "Irresponsi-"

There was a shriek of surprise. "Tsuruga-san?"

He had his hands on the chicken's head as he and the chicken turned at the sound of the voice and found Mogami-san standing at the corner with her eyes wide open.

She was wearing a short, flowy, off-the-shoulder dress, with puffed sleeves, that only covered a quarter of her thighs, and strappy high-heeled sandals. Her hair was parted on one side and was swept back from her face. It was obviously her Natsu get-up. He didn't know if this was what she was going to wear on stage, but she looked… hot.

"Why are you assaulting the chicken?" she asked.

* * *

Kyoko was not happy.

For the Information Egg segment, the Ishibashi-onii-sans had changed the format since she and Tsuruga-san were the scheduled guests for the evening as part of the Kismet promotion. The questions would come from the Information Eggs as usual but she had to answer for Tsuruga-san and Tsuruga-san would answer for her in the segment they re-invented called 'How Well Do You Know Your Romantic Partner' since they were there to promote Kismet.

So far, the score was tied. 0-0.

She hated losing. Her habit demanded nothing but perfection. And since that was not going to happen now, she should at least win.

"OK," Hikaru-san happily opened the seventh egg. "When is your partner's birthday?"

Kyoko stiffened at the question and Tsuruga-san looked at her wryly. No… After the embarrassment that happened on his birthday just that February, until the day she dies, she will never, ever mistake his birthday again for…

"February 19," the whiteboard she raised said.

"Nnnn…" Tsuruga-san gave her a dry look, his whiteboard had "December 25" on it.

Crap! The audience groaned.

"And we finally have someone who scores a point!" Shinichi-san announced happily. The audience cheered for Tsuruga-san. Most of them were girls so she understood.

Bo moved forward and hung another 'Romantic Failure' tag around Kyoko's neck. She glared at the guy who she trained for four grueling hours just this afternoon at LME just so Bo won't be on hiatus for this appearance. What the hell was that cute gesture he was doing at her? She taught him that! She couldn't wait to get her hands on Hiro-kun. That wise ass.

"What on earth's with you two?" Hikaru-san asked, smiling cheerfully. "You're starring in the biggest love-romance movie of the year, you should at least know the basic stuff about each other. All these questions are found in your public profiles on the net. Now what's with that incorrect birthday?"

"When we were in Dark Moon together, Kyoko-san actually..." Tsuruga-san good-naturedly answered, using her stage name, when she was still too embarrassed to answer for him.

"It's not like it's a public holiday that everyone will know about, you know," she muttered.

The audience laughed.

Hikaru-san reached for another question and read, "OK, last question for Tsuruga-kun's win or second to the last question for Kyoko-chan's tie: What is your partner's very first major TV Drama/Movie/CM/PV where he/she had a lead role?"

Ha! She knew that one! If getting Tsuruga-san's birthday wrong by picking up the wrong directory, it still had its benefits! She wrote in proudly 'Mars Cluster' and raised the board. There was no way in hell that Tsuruga-san would ever guess that her very first major role was in…

Crap!!!

"What the-!?" Hikaru-san blinked at his cue cards answer key. Then turned to Tsuruga-san's board. "Tsuruga-san wrote in 'Kyurara CM'," he announced. Then muttered, "I think our researcher got it wrong because it also says that it's the Kyurara CM." Yuusei-san and Shinichi-san peeked, but Hikaru-san quickly recovered with the skills of a master TV Variety host and said, "But it's wrong! Because everyone in this show knows that Kyoko-chan's first major TV Variety is Kimagure Rock as Bo! She's been part of the main cast of Kimagure Rock since our very first episode!"

"Eh?" Tsuruga-san turned to her in shock. He looked like he'd blanked out.

"Ehhhhhhhhh?" The audience cried out.

* * *

The guest of the very first episode of Kimagure Rock sprayed tea all over his couch. But he recovered quickly just so he could shout out, "Eh?"

That chicken... Sho thought widely ...was her???

* * *

"…Of course, since Kyoko-chan is a guest tonight, so we have someone special filling for her tonight!" Hikaru-san finished. He turned to the chicken and he did an elaborate bow.

"Amazing, isn't she everyone?" Shinichi-san cheerfully added. "Not only can Kyoko-chan do heavy dramas like Dark Moon and Box 'R', she's also a superb comedian!"

Ren's was still looking at Mogami-san with his mouth slightly open. Her cheeks were pink and she had an uneasy smile on her face.

"You're the chicken?" Ren asked, not realizing the mic on the lapel of his shirt was on. His mind was in a panic. He'd told the chicken all of his problems with his work, his personal stuff… He could have told her bits of his past if he'd asked! He'd told her that he was in love with her!

"Not tonight," she managed a cheery smile. "It's quite hard to act like one in a short dress." The audience laughed.

Suddenly realizing where they were, he quickly recovered and tried to push his panic aside by putting on a smile and saying, "Th-that's amazing!" But despite that, something inside him was still running around and screaming – like someone who caught fire and forgot to drop and roll.

Sensing the uneasy atmosphere, Hikaru-san picked up the game and said, "Well, Kyoko-chan finally got a answer correct. The first major project that Tsuruga-san did appear in was 'Mars Cluster' on his debut role! So the point goes to Kyoko-chan!"

"And as a tie-breaker," Following the leader's suit, Yuusei dug his hand into the basket. He picked the last egg and opened, "What is your partner's romantic type?"

He shook the feeling off. If they were to successfully downplay the rumors since everyone's been saying that Mogami-san's distressed about it, he had to be dedicated to it. Matsushima-san mentioned to him and Yashiro-san that nothing better than their scheduled appearance in a comedic TV Variety would solve it.

So… he looked at his whiteboard. Mogami-san's romantic type… He grinned and wrote in only word.

"Nnn-ah!" Mogami-san cried out in surprise when he smiled smugly at her when he raised his board.

Hikaru-san grinned widely and announced, "And our winner is… Tsuruga-kun! He got the answer correct by writing in 'Me'. As in yours truly, Ishibashi Hikaru! Kyoko-chan gave the incorrect answer. According to a recent interview published just recently, Tsuruga-kun's romantic types would be Kyoto women."

"Tsuruga-san!" she exclaimed, her face red. "This is why there's crazy rumors about us!" Then whined. "Quit it!"

He grinned. "Well, you can't blame a guy for trying, can you, Kyoko-san?" The audience burst out in laughter.

'Good,' he thought. Everyone seems to be taking it in as a joke.

"Oh, you really can't, Kyoko-chan," Shinichi-san laughed, picking up Ren's cue. "I mean, with someone called the Co-Star Killer, you can't help but be an object of intrigue. Right, Tsuruga-san?"

Ren looked at Mogami-san's face. Her eyebrows were knitted, her mouth set in a scowl and her eyes staring at him as though he'd lost his mind as the chicken placed another 'Romantic Failure' nametag around her neck. Maybe he already had, as he saw a camera moving forward towards Mogami-san's face for a close-up.

Yuusei-san was leaning towards her whispering, "Kyoko-chan… Your face, your face…"

Amicably, he turned to Shinichi-san, "How do I put this… The press has declared that Kyoko-san has stolen that title away from me." He looked at her challengingly. "It may probably take a lot of time and hard work. But, it's not like I'm not going to try to steal it back. I want to see how long she can hold on to it."

* * *

"You can have it back!" she cried out. "I'll have it written up and even have it laminated if you want to! You can hang it in your car."

"No way," Tsuruga-san looked at her through the rearview mirror. "Do I look like someone who has no self-respect that I would easily accept something that was taken away?"

"You didn't have to say that in public too," she protested.

"Oh get over it, Mogami-san," Ren looked at her through the rearview mirror. "It's a TV variety. It's supposed to be funny, you need to know how to poke fun at yourself, otherwise the hosts will eat you alive."

"The Ishibashi-onii-sans would never do that!" she cried out defensively.

Yukihito pursed his lips. He knew it. Now the entire country does too. Not only is Ren a romantic failure seven times over. So is Kyoko-chan… eight times over. She was so distraught by Ren's joking answer on the final egg question that she even failed to see that Ren's types are Kyoto women, i.e. her.

Somehow, in a sad way, it made them really perfect for each other. But since the public now knew that the rumor was untrue and that they're both single, it was a good thing. In fact, what Ren did was generally to acknowledge Kyoko-chan as an acting rival on his level, and that he has to work hard just to get the title back.

"You should know," Ren continued. "You've been on one for more than a year now."

"Urgh!" Yukihito saw her stiffen through the rear view mirror.

Today, Ren was almost fired, ridiculed with a stupid piece of gossip, and pressured a lot by Director Shingai on his scenes with Satoshi's family… And the strongest reaction he had all day was the discovery that Kyoko-chan plays the chicken in Kimagure Rock?

Well, it surprised him a lot too. After all, Ren and the chicken were hanging out in TBM and that chicken did visit him once in Fuji TV when he was having problems with Dark Moon. Who would have thought it was Kyoko-chan all this time? So it was Kyoko-chan visiting Ren. But in a chicken-head, duck-body costume???

He continued good-naturedly. "Remember what I told you before? When you deal with gossip, you should just laugh it off. Otherwise, things might get misinterpreted and spread around."

"Speaking of which," Yukihito turned to her in concern. "Did anything bad happen at school? I heard there were some reporters hanging around outside."

"No," she shrugged. "Well… One of the boys in the regular class approached me though. He said that he was the captain of the track and field club and that if I decide that show business is not for me, there will be a slot for me there."

Ren let out a spurt of laughter. Yukihito smiled. "Well, at least you weren't as harassed as we were today."

"I guess, Anyway… is it alright that you're driving me home?" She asked, in an obvious attempt to change the subject. Kyoko-chan was still embarrassed about the whole article, despite being reassured by Ren and himself that it was alright. "We might get scolded if Matsushima-san and Sawara-san found out."

"Why would they find out?" Ren asked good-naturedly. "We're not alone. Yashiro-san's here, and I don't think the Ishibashis will say anything. Besides, we still have tomorrow to talk about."

Ren had been insistent on driving her home despite Ishibashi Hikaru-san's reasonable objections. Well, obviously the young host wanted to get out of pretending to be Kyoko-chan getting into the car LME arranged while they snuck out using the basement parking. But Ren bluntly said that he was the only one to pull it off because he's short. Ishibashi Hikaru-san accepted… as long as he didn't have wear Kyoko-chan's dress and after she'd convinced him that she and Ren still needed to talk about the movie.

Sneaky Ren… he's trying to be alone with Kyoko-chan since his place was nearer to TBM Studios so he'd get dropped off first before the long drive to out-of-the-way Kyoko-chan's place.

Well… it's not like he had any objections with it, Yukihito thought, as he stepped out of the car that had stopped in front of his place, bidding the pair good night and that he'll see them tomorrow. If he had his way, Ren would bring her to his place and hopefully, not let her go home. Yukihito had realized long ago that any attempts on his part at matchmaking always blew up in his face so he just encourages Ren nowadays.

After all, the only thing that he could really do for those romantic failures was to find time for Ren to spend time at LME at the same time as her. But even that had been removed by Ren's efficient temporary manager yesterday.

* * *

Once they drove off, the car was silent. It was only broken up with one word.

"Tennnnn-tekomai."

"Erk!" she stiffened again. Ever since Tsuruga-san found out that she played Bo, he'd been taking random sarcastic jabs at her for it. She'd been waiting for the Demon Lord to emerge and flail her alive, she guessed now was that moment, but it might as well be right now. She really hated the sensation of waiting for all hell to break loose and Tsuruga-san needed to be in a good mood for tomorrow's acting test with Director Shingai.

"Now I understand why you couldn't stop laughing when said 'Okonomiyaki-ya Tentekomai' during the first week of the movie shoot."

Damn it, he has such a good memory.

"I really didn't mean to keep it a secret!" she turned to him. Well, she did, because of Shotaro, and him, but Tsuruga-san didn't need to know that she'd done it because her heart was filled with vengeance at the time. After all, he already believed her when she'd said that she was studying acting because she loved it, and she did. He would have her boiled alive for having such a performance if he ever found out about the first episode of Kimagure Rock.

* * *

"Then why did you?" he asked. "All this time, I always thought that you were on your way to the office or an audition or your Box 'R' shoot whenever you leave early some nights when we were in Dark Moon."

"Well…" Mogami-san started. "We really didn't get along at that time." She squirmed. "But you seemed to like Bo, and since I was fired the first time we met at TBM Studio, I just thought we'd never see each other again."

He nervously looked at her from the corner of his eye. "And? When we started getting along with each other?" She never tells him anything. "I told you a lot of personal things." Like being in love with her. "For all I know, you could be-"

Her face immediately fell and she looked like she was about to cry. "You think I would sell it to the media, don't you?!"

"I would never think that!" he answered immediately and defensively. Really, the girl really knew how to jump to the worst possible conclusion.

"You didn't?"

"No," he said in an exasperated tone.

"So you're just angry."

"I'm not angry. I'm just trying to understand." And trying to find out if she'd already figured it out.

"Tsuruga-san," she pouted. "If you knew that Bo was a newbie actress who happens to be your female kouhai who is four years younger than you, would you have told him your problems?"

Ah… that made sense.

"Anyway, it's nothing to be proud of," she shrugged. "You helped me out with Mio and I couldn't even help you with Katsuki. I couldn't stand that you were having such a hard time and all I could do was watch. I was really worried about you. But of course, you were able to figure out Katsuki on your own. So Bo was pretty worthless on that end."

She had it wrong… he was able to figure out Katsuki because of her. All this time, she'd been trying to be there for him. He never realized how big his existence was in her world. "Hey, that chicken happens to be a friend of mine so don't speak badly of him," he said, before he started saying and doing things he might regret.

"Huh?"

"Mogami-san…" Well, maybe just one. Knowing her, things have be taken one tiny step at a time.

"Yes?"

"We've known each other for over a year. Don't you think it's quite weird that we're still addressing each other in formal terms?"

"I guess…" she shrugged.

Before she could start saying anything about the strict vertical structure society of Japan, he announced, "Then it's decided. Right, Kyoko?"

Immediately, she smiled and answered enthusiastically, "Right, Tsuruga-kun!" Then she caught stopped and stared at him. "Huh… Isn't that a tad too informal?"

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- After a very heavy last couple of chapters, I wanted to write something light and fun. Never mind me or this chapter. I could have written it as a one-shot, but it won't be able to stand on its own.

- I happen to have it in great authority that the "If she's hot, why not?" theory works. It did for my best friend (9 older than I am) who ended up with a girl 10 years his junior. The just got married and he finally knocked her up.

- If Ren seemed OOC during the Information Egg segment, take into account that Kimagure Rock is supposed to be a comedic TV variety that is intended to be funny and light-hearted, picking on their guests. I wrote it parallel to the format of SMAP X SMAP, the most popular TV variety in Japan. Well, I m not so sure what will happen with that show now that a regular host of theirs has been arrested for public nudity. Though, personally, I didn't find Ren that OOC because I believe Ren is a very funny guy who loves to crack jokes, which doesn't really fit his own public image and they always fail with Kyoko... Hence, the was a serious discussion ensued about it between me and my beta-reader.

- The recent interview that I mentioned about Ren having Kyoto Women as his romantic type is actually found in the Q&A section of The Official Skip Beat! Fanbook. Ren also said that he considered the chicken his friend in the same Q&A - when writing from Ren's POV, I always used "the chicken" because Ren doesn't know Bo's name..

- Next chapter will be up next week. Sorry. My schedule has been packed all week that I haven't written that much. But the regular twice a week updates will continue next week. The story will continue with Ren's acting test with Shingai. Keyword is: Beagle.

- Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed the last couple of chapters. I hope you'll also review this chapter.


	14. Chapter 14: Ren's Happiness Meter

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Skip Beat! Now get down on you knees and thank (insert your deity of choice) that I don't. XD

**Acknowledgment:** Ecki for beta-reading. A hundred more words, a hundred less words... I don't think it matters at the length of this chapter.

**Dedication: **Bloody_Rose021 again. Good luck with your exams.

**Reading Notes:** For movie scenes, depending if they are in character or not, Satoshi & Chiaki and Ren & Kyoko and the other variations of their names will be used depending on the point-of-view. Or something like that.

* * *

Kyoko smiled arrogantly at the person looking back at her.

"How do you do?" she proudly said. "My name is Mogami Kyoko. I'm an actress. A great one, too. I've done extremely done difficult roles that people say that no else can do." She flipped her hair as she continued. "You could say that I'm some kind of miracle actress. I was even able to steal away Tsuruga Ren's titles as co-star killer. Now…" she smiled deviously. "I can now proceed as planned and defeat him with my acting." She let out a cackle.

The person looked at her dubiously and rolled her eyes.

"What am I doing?" she groaned, leaning her forehead against the mirror. "I don't even know what to do today. If I'm any kind of actress, how come I can't even get the person I was supposed to have stolen the title away from to act out the role???"

Today was his acting test with Director Shingai, and Kyoko was probably more nervous than her dai-senpai. She spent the night tossing and turning trying to think up of ways to act out Chiaki that can make Satoshi respond the way he should be. But she came up with nothing. Well, he did say to act out Chiaki as she wanted. But, that didn't work the first time around.

His job is on the line here. He should be dictating to her how he wants her to act.

Pressure was pushing her head down as made her way down the stairs. She greeted the Okami-san and Taisho a good morning, before setting her things on the table.

"Don't you need to be on your way, Kyoko-chan?" asked Okami-san.

"Huh?" She turned to face Okami-san, who was preparing the specialty of the day. "Um… I'm waiting for the company car to take me to the studio. They say it's better, if I just lay low for a while. I even have to go out in disguise before people starts noticing that I live here."

"Really?" the Okami-asked outrageously. "Don't tell me that story about you and those boys are still going around. Even neighborhood gossip don't last that long."

Neighborhood gossip is not exactly broadcasted for the consumption of the public. But, Taisho and Okami-san wouldn't understand that. They were just simple people living ordinary lives in their restaurant. What was pain it must be for them – sheltering an aspiring actress who only causes nothing but trouble.

Her phone rang. It was the driver saying that he's right in front of the restaurant. She stood up, gathered her things, and bid the couple good-bye before heading for the door.

"Is that your disguise?" said Taisho gruffly to Kyoko.

"Huh?" Kyoko turned back to the rarely-speaking man, confused.

"You forgot those." he nodded towards the table, where her hat and sunglasses were.

"Ack!" she exclaimed. "Thank you!" She bowed again and went on her way.

* * *

"Dear," the Okami-san scolded. "You should be more gentle with Kyoko-chan. She's becoming more famous now - we can't even let her serve even if she wanted to."

Her husband just went on stirring and grunted.

"And with all these boys chasing after her now," she continued. "I'm even surprised that she still hasn't brought one of them here." She smiled, relishing at the thought that she would bring home a nice boy, who would see all the things that are so lovable about her. Even if, she talks to someone who is not in the room, out loud, and, be so scary in the middle of the night despite knowing how thin the walls are.

Her husband stopped. A deep frown marred his face.

"Maybe it's that boy who drops her off sometimes," the okami-san mused. "The one she thinks we think to be a taxi. The one in that silver car. He seems like the persistent type. He's been at it for a year and if Kyoko-chan didn't like him, she would have shooed him away already."

Her sour-faced husband finally spoke. "Unless, she walks through that door with him in her arm and meeting us like a proper man, I'm not going to accept anything."

"Of course you won't!" The okami-san smiled. He wouldn't easily give up the girl he loved as a daughter to just anyone.

* * *

On the way to the studio, she started feeling a sense of relief that after all the trouble she cost, she still had a face to show to the Kismet cast and crew.

According to Sawara-san, her scheduled appearance in Kimagure Rock with Tsuruga-san last night dispelled majority of the rumors going on about them. Especially after he challenged to steal the title back, it seemed that it was only because of their acting prowess. And, because according to the information gathered, no one can really believe a person so in love with someone else would know so little of the person he's in love with.

She believed the general perception. After all, during her darker years, she was the foremost authority on everything Shotaro.

It annoyed her that Akatoki Agency seemed to have done a better job at diverting the news about Shotaro's romantic failure-ness by announcing some big-shot music executive's deal with him. But according to Sawara-san, it's to be expected since she and the other person involved are co-starring in a movie together. So all they had to do it to be careful on how they move around each other to not stir up any more gossip.

But damn that Shotaro, she once again started to feel worked up. He generally came out scot-free. If it wasn't for him, the whole rumor wouldn't have started in the first place.

* * *

"What did I tell you last night?" one of the writers in Boots smugly announced. "If you just wrote the usual bit about Tsuruga Ren and Kyoko, you'd still have a hot story in your hands. You know by now that LME and Akatoki have excellent PR Departments to disprove or cover up things like this. The only thing that you were able to do is give that girl a lofty status."

He stared at the computer monitor at a rival gossip magazine's website, featuring Kyoko and the host of Kimagure Rock, Ishibashi Hikaru, with the headline 'Co-Star Killer Strikes Again.' "If it wasn't for Fuwa Sho's appearance the other day, I would have written just that. Those two would have had far harder time refuting that than just this. I've been focusing on Tsuruga Ren for so long, I should have dug up stuff on her! She's far more interesting than Tsuruga Ren."

His desk phone rang and his friend picked it up for him. "Hello? … Yes, this is Boost." He turned to him and handed him the phone. "For you, some weird dude who says he has information on someone named 'Akazukin-chan'."

* * *

"We're early." Yukihito announced as he placed his mobile phone back in his jacket pocket and removed his latex glove. He grinned happily and asked, "Excited to see Kyoko-chan, aren't cha?"

Ren gave him a deadpan look and answered, "Today's my acting test for Director Shingai. If I don't nail it, I'll be fired on the spot."

Still saying boring things. "Well," he laughed. "There's that." Yukihito was feeling confident about the acting test though. Ren seemed relaxed about the whole thing.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Kyoko-chan walking up to them, already in costume, hair and make-up.

"Kyoko-chan!" Yukihito greeted enthusiastically. "You look too cute in baby blue!"

But the actress didn't even so much as acknowledge them and walked passed them with her shoulders sagged, her face annoyed and her mouth moving with incoherent muttering.

"Somehow…" he commented to Ren. "It only suited her when she was going it as Mio." The cheery, pastel dress, the trendy hairstyle and the general appearance of Chiaki didn't suit that weird side of hers."

"Mogami-san?" Ren called out to Kyoko.

"Ah!" she exclaimed softly, as she stopped in her tracks, turned to them and bowed. "Good morning, Tsuruga-san, Yashiro-san."

"Is anything wrong, Kyoko-chan?" Yukihito asked with concern. Well, Ren's job was on the line here, but more because he was worried about her.

"Huh?" she blinked. Then her face darkened along with her aura. "I just came from a meeting with the casting director to look over potential replacements for Tsuruga-san," she said haltingly.

"Eh?" Yukihito gasped. This was too much! They're really pushing Ren to the edge, especially with the scene that was scheduled to come first for the day.

"Really" Ren smiled good-naturedly. "Like who?"

Kyoko-chan just frowned up at him.

"Well???"

Yukihito strained to listen as Kyoko-chan enumerated five names. All of them top actors in the country. All of them considered Ren's competition for the top spot in the industry. All of them still interested in filling the role. Yukihito was awestruck by the fact that the kind of preparation was made for her debut. With the President playing the role of executive producer at both, it wasn't a surprise that he went all out. Especially, since that the Love Me combo were considered to be his favorites.

"Wow…" Ren commented. "That's quite a list. So, who would you like to play Satoshi in my place?"

What the hell??? Ren was talking as thought he's expecting to be kicked out.

"Eh?" Kyoko-chan looked up at him with a nervous face.

"If, I get fired today," Ren enunciated. "Who among those five would you like as a replacement male lead?"

Ren looked at her expectantly. "Eh?" Kyoko-chan repeated, her face frozen.

And Yukihito finally realized the sad truth.

He thought last February was Ren's ultimate low on the happiness meter when it concerned Kyoko-chan. He just sunk lower by now fishing for compliments.

Ren..., Yukihito struggled to get through him through mental telepathy. He knew that the idiot was in love, but this was starting to become a little sad. If, he wants something to come out with Kyoko-chan, he should really make a move already.

* * *

She knew it.

Her first instinct yesterday, was to ask him for an acting exercise, like how they did it in Dark Moon. It would have been as much for her as it was for him. She could have even stayed over, since they were going to the same location first thing in the morning. But they got sidetracked because of the whole Bo thing. Then, that whole naming address that ended in a deadlock, because they couldn't see eye to eye and settled to return to their usual address – that was a waste of time. By the time they finished, they were already in front of the Daruma-ya.

She thought that he might have already gotten it down.

"Well?" He asked once again as he flashed holy light – extra voltage.

And she finally realized it!

"So…" Her shoulders sagged further and she looked at the tips of her shoes. He wasn't feeling confident about it. "You finally realized how much of a beating your reputation has gotten because of this movie and have just decided to give up on it?"

"Huh?"

"I guess it won't be such a hardship," she continued, really saddened that Tsuruga-san may no longer be interested in the role. A light-hearted love romance is not exactly something he would like to be remembered for as one of the downfalls of his career. "Kijima Hidehito-san and I went along fairly well together in Dark Moon. He's next in line for the role according to the casting di-"

"Ack!" Yashiro-san exclaimed.

"Er…" Tsuruga-san said nervously. "That's not what I mean, Mogami-san."

"Then, what?" she pouted.

"Eh…" He looked at her. His face looked a little confused then started looking like a little kid trying to make an excuse. "I'll have you know that I don't back out of anything. But…"

She looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

He looked down at her with an exasperated look on his face. "How am I going to perform a satisfactory Satoshi if Chiaki has a face like that?"

"Eh?"

"The Satoshi that will satisfy director Shingai is the Satoshi that Chiaki can smile at, like how she did the other day during the omiai scenes."

"Huh?" Come to think of it… Everything from those scenes were one takes. Kyoko forced herself to think back on the feeling she had then.

"Come on, Mogami-san," he goaded. "Smile like that."

As she thought back, her mouth started to stretch sideways. But, it wasn't quite right, so it recoiled. She started thinking back again and her mouth stretched again.

"Are you developing a facial twitch?"

The pressure was building.

"Now that's just a grimace."

"I can do that!" she determinedly exclaimed. She started slapping her cheeks. Chiaki's in love! Chiaki's in love! She's supposed to be in love!

Tsuruga-san was asking too much. They're not in front of the camera. She's not in character. The sudden pressure to act was hard. At the moment, the only thing that she could manage was a shy smile.

He smiled back and said, "I guess that'll do."

Ah!!! she finally realized it. Like a ray of sunshine that peeked through the clouds down onto the Enchanted Forest. Where giant rainbow-colored flowers bloomed and magical creatures roamed: Tsuruga-san's smile wasn't as radiant and blinding if she actually smiled back.

This is an incredible development! Now, her life won't be in so much danger. That she might, actually survive this movie to make another one.

* * *

"You thought you could get away with it, could you?" his sneaky manager smirked.

Ren raised an eyebrow at Yashiro-san through his dressing room mirror. "I don't' know what you're talking about," he said.

"By taunting Kyoko-chan…" he grinned mischievously. "You thought you could get her to say that she prefers you to be Satoshi over anyone else, did you?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's exactly what I told Mogami-san. I won't pass the acting test, if I get that kind of reaction from her. You think, I'll pass with her face looking like that." Before Yashiro-san can add any more outrageous accusations, he added, "Besides, you can't expect me and Mogami-san to work with each other, on every single project. I can't make her have any favorites. If she keeps on basing her decisions on her preferences, that talent of hers will never grow."

"Liar. You should already know that she prefers you because she already did that outrageous thing at the President's office." Then he sighed, "But I get what you mean. The director selected to re-shoot that bad scene from three days ago," he said as they started walking to the set. "If Kyoko-chan runs out of the set crying and shouting 'Pervert!', you're done for."

Ren just stared blankly ahead.

Yesterday, Director Shingai talked about today's acting test. Obviously, he read the article - though Ren wasn't sure of how much he believed. The scene he and Mogami-san couldn't finish because she understandably freaked out about was the first scene to be shot today. The director said that if he can go through with that scene, everything will be fine.

Ren believed him and that was why he wanted Mogami-san relaxed. He knew how to work the scene properly, but he totally needed her cooperation.

When they got there, one of the admin people called to Yashiro-san and his manager walked away. The scene was still being set up and Mogami-san was on the phone, bowing profusely.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said, looking flushed. She paused to listen to whoever was on the other line then answered, "Yes I know, I know it's just a gossip column and it isn't my fault. But, Hikaru-san, the article between us is bothersome. What if your girlfriend..., you don't have a girlfriend?" said to Hikaru on the cell phone. "Well, that's a relief, but it's still a bother..." said Kyoko. " Tonight? " Well, I still have a Box 'R' promotion to do...," Kyoko paused again in hesitation. " Oh, your meeting's starting? OK, I'll see you next week at Kimagure Rock. Bye."

"What was that all about, Mogami-san?" Ren asked.

She was dismayed and held out her phone to him. It was opened to a website of one of the gossip magazines with a headline 'Co-Star Killer Strikes Again'. She sighed, "Someone took a picture of me and Hikaru-san when we were buying our pre-show snack at the cafeteria in TBM, and sold it to the tabloids. Oohara-san told me about it because she thought that I might have just actually killed someone." She let out a little humorless laugh. "But I think I'm the one who's gonna end up getting killed by this."

"What?" He smiled with a mixture of bewilderment and amusement.

"Well," she sighed. "Shotaro's girlfriend or whatever was generally the one who told me about the article. She seriously looked like she was going to attack me. But, I think she figured I was holding a bigger potential weapon than her. Well..., Hikaru-san said that she doesn't have a girlfriend… Then there's your girlfriend…"

Ren paused and blinked. "Pardon?"

She let out a small smile. "You told me about her, remember?" Then she leaned forward and said in a near whisper. "That girl that you're in love with. Aren't you two a couple yet?"

"Eh…, no."

"Huh? Why not?" she exclaimed. "I thought you were!"

"Why would you think that?"

"Because," she tapped her index fingers together. "Whenever I see you, you seemed… very happy. So, it was one of the conclusions I came up with."

"Really?" he smiled. "What are these other 'conclusions' you came up with? I'm kinda curious now."

"Well…" she shrugged. "The usual things, I guess… winning the lottery, getting something you really like, a big role you really, really like. That kind of stuff."

"What about…," He bent down and met her eyes. "Looking at the face of the girl I like and think how cute she is?"

"Hence, the reason why I came up with the first conclusion." She sighed and continued nonchalantly. "Anyway, I told you that almost a year ago. Those things… They were just a 'For a start…' kind of thing. I'm really surprised. I didn't think that you'd be the type to live on such small and trivial progress, Tsuruga-san."

He blanked out. "Pardon me?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. It's none of my business. I don't think you'd wanna talk about embarrassing things like that now that you find out that Bo's your kouhai. Who also happens to be, the female who's just been named 'Romantic Failure' at Kimagure Rock." She let out a small, humorless laugh. "And worse, in the Love Me Section to top it all off. So, what do I know, right?"

He always thought, it was just because his manager was being pushy. Especially, when that girl was Mogami-san. Now that he knew that she had seem his embarrassing side, she actually came out and said that she thought he was slow to move??? But now that she actually taunted him like that, he was starting to get really worked up. Now he really wanted to make a move…

"Tsuruga-kun! Kyoko-chan!" the assistant director called to them. "We're ready for you two!"

* * *

Chiaki made her way to the shelves, and tripped.

"Cuuuuuut!"

"Mogami-san, are you OK?" Tsuruga-san half-rose from his seat to check up on her.

Kyoko winced, but immediately stood up and nervously declared, "I'm alright! Sorry! It's my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's alright!" Director Shingai smiled. Then without turning his head, called out, "Can someone move that rug a little bit so Kyoko-chan won't trip on it again?" A prop person moved forward to see to it.

While the wardrobe girl was dusting off her dress, Kyoko was going her best to calm herself down from the embarrassing scene, and glanced at Tsuruga-san. He was seated on the chair as Satoshi should be, looking relaxed as he waited for the scene to start again.

Somehow, to her, it seemed like she was the only one who was feeling nervous about the whole thing.

And why shouldn't she anyway? Tsuruga-san's future in this move was dependent on this one scene. Where on earth is everyone – including Tsuruga-san – acting so normally??? Was she the only one who cared to the point that she was this close to crying out tears of blood?

"OK!" Director Shingai announced once everything was in place again. " Once again, from the top."

"Alright!" She straightened up as she went to position.

The second take, Chiaki managed to walk over the shelves and pull out the DVD and said her lines. But, as she stood up, Kyoko's heart started pounding knowing that Tsuruga-san was just right behind her.

"Cut!"

"No!" she cried out. Her mind went into certain panic when the director called for the NG.

"Kyoko-chan," Director Shingai said. "You're standing too stiffly. Chiaki has complete trust in Satoshi. I want you to push that problem you had before, and put it behind you."

She was relieved that the NG was called for her rather than for Tsuruga-san. With her back to him, she really couldn't see what he was doing. She really, really wanted him to do well in this scene and stay. "Yes!" she exclaimed.

"Alright," Director Shingai sighed. "We'll start over with the part where you were saying 'Found it!'"

"OK," she answered. Then she turned to Tsuruga-san and looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Tsuruga-san."

He had his arms over his chest and sighed. "What is it, Mogami-san? Are you still worried about the last time?"

"To think, you even got away with stealing away that Co-Star Killer title away from me. And you dare call yourself a pro??? You should give up now. You're just getting in the way. Ah!! What a headache," she finished for him in her head. After all this time, Tsuruga-san has never been able to act friendly and gently towards her. He's like that to everyone, but she never got that kind of treatment from him. Well, she's not so stupid not to know, when she's been on the receiving end of his kindness outside of work. But he's always a bully when it came to work.

Wasn't that just unfair? He's the reason she couldn't calm down for this scene. For one thing, his job was on the line. While it did depend on his performance, it has to be a good scene between them. It was not the like his acting test for Katsuki. This was with the cameras rolling.

She frowned up at him and all he told her was "What…?"

And another thing is, he really spooked her three days ago. With those two things hanging in her head, she's justifiably nervous. She frowned up at him and said, "We'll nail it on the third take."

He just looked at her with not a change in his expression, and Kyoko just stared back, taking the challenge.

The third take went on smoothly. Chiaki was crouched over the shelves as her finger stopped at the slightly dusty, years-since-it's-been-watched DVD. "Ah! Found it!" she exclaimed. Chiaki smiled at the artfully tossed around collage of pictures she'd made as a cover as she stood up.

From the glass pane of the window, she was startled to see Satoshi standing right behind her. Strange, she didn't even hear him move. "Satoshi-ku–"

She was startled when Satoshi moved to wrap his arms around her waist. Chiaki relaxed as she started to feel warmth emanating from Satoshi's body. Satoshi buried his nose in her hair and she felt his warm breath behind her ear. "You did?"

Chiaki blushed and nodded. It felt odd, having Satoshi's arms wrapped around her with his face buried in her hair. It didn't make her heart hammer like crazy, but it was filled with a lot of fuzziness. Like the time she received that rose from Tsuruga-san, and being surrounded by all the people she cared about on her birthday. But, all she could really do now, is to take a small step backward because she wanted to be surrounded by that warmth some more.

And Satoshi obliged her, tightening his arms around her.

"Cut!

In surprise, Kyoko cried out, "No!" She…

"Mogami-san?" Tsuruga-san looked at her questioningly.

"I forgot to say the line!" she cried out.

* * *

"Eh?" Seiji asked, shocked at Kyoko-chan's violent reaction. He turned to the assistant director and asked, "What line?"

The assistant director leaned forward and held up the script in a large binder. "Actually, she did," he whispered. "Chiaki was supposed to say 'Just a little.'"

"Really?" he asked in surprise. Oh yeah… Now that he thought about it. But from the way that the two interacted just now… "No need for that," he said with finality.

"Eh?" The assistant director and Kyoko-chan raised an eyebrow.

"That was a good take," Seiji smiled. "Just the reaction that I wanted. If we go with that, there's no need for that line, right?"

"D-Director Shingai is right!" Oohara-san announced, her fingers linked together as she raised it to her mouth. "Watching Satoshi and Chiaki act like that together made me feel all girly and gushy. I know the script and I don't even think that there's anything off about the missing line." Her eyes started twinkling and she shook her head. "Kya!!"

"I think she's on a super-high now," Vincent smiled. "I can't believe that she's not yet hyperventilating."

Oohara-san's breathing started to hitch. "It was like a girlhood crush come to life." She started cooing.

Kyoko-chan and Tsuruga-kun stepped down from the raised set and walked up to them. "So…" Kyoko-chan asked. "Does this mean that we passed?"

Seiji stared at her as she nervously clasped and unclasped her hands. It was strange. She seemed more nervous than Tsuruga-kun.

She hasn't forgotten her frustration and annoyance with Tsuruga-kun's acting, with how he can lead on a co-star into the proper reaction. So, when that happened again in the scene, she retaliated by taking a step back, which got him to hold her tighter. Even without the cue of the missed line to do so. Now Seiji is now really excited. The male and female versions of the co-star killer are trying to get each other. Seiji is actually amused that he will be on front row to see who emerges victorious.

"Of course," he smiled at the actress who finally relaxed her stance. "But I will no longer tolerate any more slacking off. I expect scenes to be like that. I want everything to have just a strong an impact as that one."

"Yes, sir!" Kyoko-chan nodded enthusiastically and Ren acknowledged the director with a slight nod.

"Alright," Seiji announced. "We'll be following the revised schedule on the board. We have a lot to cover today, since Tsuruga-kun's leaving at three and Kyoko-chan at five."

Kyoko happily stepped inside the car, on her way to Sunrise TV, for her Box "R" promotional interview with the rest of the cast.

She relaxed as she leaned back against the seat. She really had fun today. They were able to finish a lot of the scenes, and everything is nearly back on track. After all the craziness she went through, since the time the role was given to her, she felt relaxed and at ease. She almost forgot that she was playing one of the roles of her dreams - an ojou-sama with the mental defect. Now, she can finally have fun with her role.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone rang. It was someone from LME's PR Department. The girl on the other line gave her a series of instructions from upper management. When she asked for the reason, the person said a name that sent chills down her spine.

"Bea... Beagle???"

* * *

**Chapter Notes:  
**  
- This is kind of a slow chapter... and awfully fluffy. After getting over one major hurdle (Ren getting fired), I might as well lay the groundwork for more things to come here. Believe me, there are MORE things to come. Well, not really, based on my outline of events, I'm planning to complete this fanfic by Chapter 20. Well… not exceeding 25 chapters, depending on how long I write them.

- Actually, out of all the canon characters, I picked Oohara-san to be part of the movie because she has the most tendency to fangirl Ren AND his acting – she did on Katsuki's acting test. I actually didn't want to put in any of the Dark Moon actors in it because it would seem like a repetition with a different pairing. That would be like, Dark Moon Part 2. And none of the actors in Box "R" have shown much of their personalities as much as they have in Dark Moon – they would have been hard to write. But I just suck too much with making original characters – look at poor Vincent, nothing but one-liners and such.

- Yes, I'm also late in publishing. Well... I'm not really going through writer's block since I already have this story down to the end, but I was having problems with execution because I am already heading for the more romantical stuff, I couldn't write it without being horrified at myself. Yes, I have a love problem that I always find my writing on those kinds of things so be soooooooooo cheesy and stuff that I end up not being satisfied with it. I wanna have Chapter 15 up by Sunday, but we'll see... My entire posting schedule has been sckewed because of this development. ;_;

- By the way, I just noticed that despite the background of the story (Ren and Kyoko in a movie together), I hardly wrote anything on the movie and focused more on Ren & Kyoko and the events that surrounded the movie. Does that bother anyone??? Do you want things to be written about the movie???


	15. Chapter 15: Kyoko's Wrath

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Dedication:** To Sweetie8587. Your review for Chapter 14 totally made me laugh.

**Acknowledgment:** Ecki for beta-reading. Hehe, I added some stuff. Most to address your concerns, and then some. ^^

As always, disclaimers apply.

* * *

People stood out of the way as a girl in a dark figure-hugging dress and three-inch boots passed. There are some people who could see little spirits circling her, but everyone could feel the dark aura that surrounded her. She was not stopping for anyone, not even the TV Station's errand boy. Who ended up scattering a stack of paperwork all over the floor was spared Kyoko's usual kindness and courtesy.

Because she has had enough!

She finally get the ojou-sama role of her dreams – though princess or fairy would still be much, much, MUCH better – and she can't even enjoy it because some stupid gossip columnist decided to write down crap about her and captured the attention of every stupid idiot that would listen. Now there was stupid stuff about her and Beagle???

Does that stupid gossip monger know that she's known for playing evil roles? Who knows when she'll get to play an ojou-sama without any mental defects again??? That really pissed her off!

She picked up her phone when it rang just as she entered the waiting room that housed the other four main characters of Box "R". It's been ringing off the hook since she stepped into the car. She answered the call just as Makino-san walked up to her and asked, "Kyoko-san! What are you going to do?"

A smile stretched across her face as she answered both, "Leave everything to me."

* * *

Yukihito and several other people from the LME Talent Section turned and looked up at Ren just as he clamped his phone shut.

"Ren! What did Kyoko-chan say???" Yukihito asked urgently. "Why didn't she obey Sawara-san when she was told not to go to the Box 'R' promo interview?"

When he and Ren arrived at the Acting Section, everyone was in an uproar with people from the PR Department and the Talent Section running back and forth. Ren asked and someone told them about another rumor that went on the net about Kyoko-chan and, this time, the lead singer of Vie Ghoul. After the news sprang out of the Boost's website (which also promises an in-depth story on their next issue), Vie Ghoul's web blog also confirmed what was said there.

He was really frantic about the whole thing. And for a minute, Ren turned a little green and he was furious – a totally polar opposite reaction to the hilarity he had when he read the Boost article and the merciless teasing he made to Kyoko-chan when the one about her and Ishibashi Hikaru-san came out.

Though, it made sense. Yukihito learned about the whole thing from Ren that time in Karuizawa. He also knew that Sawara-san, being Kyoko-chan's immediate supervisor, knew about it. He made sure to tell the head of the talent department after they came back from Karuizawa in case Kyoko-chan be scheduled to appear anywhere near those guys. But Sawara-san said that he already knew about it. Whether it was Ren or Director Ogata or Kyoko-chan herself was anyone's guess.

"This is it!" Sawara-san agonized. "There's no time to get anyone in LME to go to Sunrise TV to go after her. If she gets ambushed by that interviewer about that gossip on the Boots' website and Vie Ghoul's official site, she'll be done for!"

"Ren?" Yukihito slowly stood up and started towards him when he made no move or said anything. Kyoko-chan seemed to have been brushing off everyone's calls. Yukihito thought that Ren might be able to get through to her.

"Ren?"

Slowly, the actor slowly turned around and looked at him, paused, and with an amazed look on his face, answered, "I think I just talked to Natsu."

* * *

Maruya Marumi-chan, being lead protagonist as Chitose in the drama, was asked a lot of the question. But she could already tell the way the interviewer was looking at her that he couldn't wait to get to her once the pre-requisite questions for Rumi-chan are done. Of course, several questions were also thrown at her, Makino-san, Sudo-san and Chiori-san, who played Natsu, Kaori, Tugumi and Yumika, respectively the girls who bullied Chitose a lot in the series.

She could already tell that Kaori and Tugumi were nervous. But, Yumika proved herself to be a worthy right hand when she seemed to already know what's going on.

And her suspicions proved correct when the interviewer eagerly turned to her after Chitose finished answering the last question. It was a live broadcast, but it didn't have an audience. So anything that will happen in the interview will be raw and unedited. She really had to be careful not do anything rash.

"So, Kyoko-san," the interviewer asked almost enthusiastically. "You've only been in show business for a year. You've had a meteoric rise with Box 'R' , only being your second drama and all. Now, everyone's been talking about how you're going to be have your movie in this year's biggest love-romance movie and how you've already earned such a prestigious title like 'co-star killer'."

"Why thank you," she smiled graciously. "Being named something that prestigious is quite an honor. Although," she pushed her hair back. "I'm still too new in acting to actually deserve a title like that."

When she didn't say anything more, he continued, "You're probably experiencing a lot of crazy things right now… especially with names like Tsuruga Ren, Fuwa Sho and Ishibashi Hikaru being linked to your name, right?" Before she could even breathe to answer, the interviewer pressed on. "Now, we can add Vie Ghoul's lead singer, Reino."

The second name mentioned… called forth her demons. And at the fourth name, her demons raged. But she didn't have any demons. She was a demon. A slow smile formed on her face as she said, "Hehhhh… Really? It's the first time I've heard of it. When did that come out?"

The girls froze. They must be thinking that she's going crazy.

"There is a thing on the Internet saying that you and one of the members of Vie Ghoul have been intimate."

She smiled brightly. "Really?"

"Is there any truth to that?"

"Heh…" A slow smile formed on her face. "I did meet them in Nipponet Scoop. They never really made that much of an impression on me."

"But published reports say that the two have you are close," the interviewer elaborated. He sensed that she was just making a ruse. "The lead singer, Reino, even has the pet name, Akazukin-chan, for you."

"Wow… I earned a nickname!" She let out a giggle and answered with boredom. "But really now... If Japan's top actor Tsuruga Ren and Japan's top musician Fuwa Sho – and adding on Japan's top TV Variety host Ishibashi Hikaru – are all rumored to be chasing after me but can't get me to fall in love with any of them. Why on earth would the gossip magazines now throw in some third-rate one-hit-wonder band like the Beagle?" Her nose wrinkled in disdain. But she made sure that she emphasized the words 'Japan's Top'.

Yumika looked surprised for a second, then let out a loud laugh. "Beagle???"

"Woof! Woof!" Chitose barked the same time as Kaori let out an "Arf! Arf!" Chiori-san let out a cute little howl.

"No, no," Tugumi crossed her arms over her chest. "You three have it all wrong. It's…" and let out a high-pitched "Yip! Yip!"

"Um…" The interviewer just stared at the girls. "It's Vie Ghoul. It's German-"

"No, no, no, you're wrong!" She looked at the interviewer as though he got his education under a rock. "It's American. Or British." She turned to the girls questioningly. "I don't know… English is English, right?"

"Erm…" The interviewer just started at her as though SHE was the one who got her education under a rock. "Vie Ghoul, Kyoko-san. Vie. Ghoul." He emphasized.

"Oh!" her eyes widened in wonderment. "Good for them! I wondered for a second how a Visual Kei band can survive in the genre when they're named after a puppy." The girls started their dog impersonations again.

"And…" The interviewer said in the louder voice to not be overpowered by the girls. "They're not a one-hit wonder band. They had several hits after 'Birth'. Their new single just debuted at number 2."

"Eh!? Just number two???" Kaori exclaimed in outrage.

"Too low!" Yumika declared. "Who's got number one?"

"I think it's still Fuwa Sho," Chitose contributed helpfully.

"Kyoko-san," Tugumi turned to her. "I didn't think you'd be the type to settle for number twos now."

"No, no," she said as she waved her hand. "I was wrong." She shook her head resignedly. "I'll admit it."

"Eh?" The girls abruptly stopped in their tracks and the interviewer looked like he just hit the jackpot. "You'll admit to what, Kyoko-san???"

She tilted her head. "They're not a third-rate band. They're a second-rate band."

Yumika picked up the cue. "Second-rate, third-rate. Doesn't make much of a difference. It's still not number one. Now why would anyone in their right mind go for a number two when they already have the number ones chasing after her." The girls started mumbling among themselves about the truth of what she said.

"Really…" Tugumi blanched. "It's kinda hard to believe that an actress like you who had first-rate guys chasing after you to slum it."

Flippantly, she continued, ignoring her. "Still amazing for a group who play nothing more than scraps of Fuwa Sho's old style though." She smirked. "Not only are they second-rate, they don't have originality either."

"They have a new sound," The interviewer looked at the cue cards that he was holding. "Their new album is going to be out in a couple of weeks."

"So it's a publicity stunt!' Chitose exclaimed with her usual naiveté. Everyone turned to them in surprise. Chitose continued, "I dated a musician. Changing musical style is a big gamble, so hype has to be really big in order for them not to be blasted by old fans and not to put off new ones."

"That's low!" Tugumi cried out. "Using Kyoko-san's fame as a stepping stone just to sell a couple of albums!"

"It's said that Vie Ghoul was in Karuizawa recording their album the same time Dark Moon was shooting their Karuizawa episode," the interviewer nearly shouted since the segment was not being overtaken by four rowdy teenagers and girl who is currently enjoying the chaos around her.

"So??? Tsuruga Ren and Fuwa Sho were also in Karuizawa that time," she pointed out as she let out a mischievous giggle. "So I'll ask you…" She leaned forward and met the interview's eye. "If you were given a choice to be alone between those three in Karuizawa – where it seems like you could easily lose yourself because it feels like a vacation – who would you hang out with?"

"Erm…" The interviewer swallowed nervously. "Vi-Vie Ghoul."

"Reeeeeeeeeally?" She raised an eyebrow mockingly. "Sounds to me that you're going to say just about anything just to get to me to talk about something that never happened." She said matter-of-fact-ly, sending the interviewer a look that would make people think she cared about nothing else. "Or maybe, you just don't have any taste. None of the members even bleeped in the radar of Oricon for best-looking, so why even bother?" She sighed. "And to be honest, I'm actually too young and focused on being acting to be interested in boys."

"I'll take Tsuruga Ren!" Kaori exclaimed excitedly.

"Too tall!" Tugumi complained. "I'd rather be with Fuwa-san!"

"I'll go with biases and vote for Tsuruga-san!" Yumika giggled as she raised her hand.

"Can I hang out with both Tsuruga Ren and Fuwa Sho?" Chitose asked, tilting her head to the side, unable to decide.

The girls howled with laughter and she smiled patronizingly at the airhead-like Rumi-chan. "You can only choose one you know…"

The interviewer nearly-shouted on top of the laughing girls and said, "So if you were, Kyoko-san. Who would you-"

"Cut to commercial!" The producer hissed from the side. And the guy quickly wrapped up the interview, knowing well that he has lost control of the interview.

She was actually disappointed. She only got to say little… But it seemed like her band of minions has done the job for her as always.

* * *

Ren, Yashiro-san, Sawara-san, Matsushima-san and the rest of the staff inside the Acting and Talent Section just stared at the TV, awestruck by the general chaos the five girls caused in a popular entertainment show.

"Amazing," Maria-chan gushed as she sat on Ren's lap. Her eyes twinkled. "Onee-sama pulverized the mean man to bits. Now I really wanna be like her when I grow up."

"Eh?" the two older men gasped.

"It's nothing less than what you'd expect from Nacchan, right?" Ren smiled at the little girl. "It's what the guy deserved for trying to press the leader of a bully group."

The little doll on his lap grinned back wickedly. Then she turned to the head of the PR Department crying out with full authority as though she was the President and shouted, "You brats better make her out to be someone who only goes after first-rate guys. I'm not going to let anyone think that onee-sama has no taste."

"Ah…" Ren gave her an irresistible smile to counter her own irresistible one. "Maria-chan, you're not jealous of the rumors going around about me and Mogami-san, are you?"

"Nah…" The little girl shook her head and giggled. "That's because I know that Ren-sama loves me more."

Ren laughed and gave her a hug.

"But, who would have thought that she would go this road," Yashiro-san shook his head.

"Now, I don't want to scold her." Sawara-san's shoulders sagged. "She doesn't have to be punished, because she gave that superb performance. But, she has to reprimanded because she didn't follow instructions. But, if that's what's in store for me," he hugged himself as he shivered. "I don't want to go through it anymore." Then he sneakily eyes the acting section manager. "Hey, Matsushima-kun, she's going-"

Matsushima-san crossed his arms and firmly shook his head. "No way. She's still under you until the President says so. I don't want to scold her either."

"Then, who?"

It was quiet for a while until Ren finally realized that the two men were looking at him.

* * *

With her face set, Kyoko made her way across the lobby of LME headquarters.

She was not oblivious to the stares, the pointing and the whispers, but she decided to ignore them. She stopped in front of the elevators and waited.

She was going to get so scolded. She deliberately disobeyed everyone's orders by going to the Box "R" promotional interview without waiting for the PR Department has figured out what to do. Sure, her cast mates and the drama's director were happy about the result, but despite the temporary elation, she braced herself for merciless scolding.

She blindly marched right inside the elevator car when it opened. She mechanically pushed the floor button and waited.

"Good evening." A quiet, familiar voice greeted her from behind as the elevator doors closed.

She stiffened and knew that her unlucky streak has reached its peak. She slowly turned and found Tsuruga-san leaning against the back wall of the elevator car.

"That was quite an act," he said as he smiled. "The one you pulled during the interview."

"Tsuruga-san!" He's angry, and rightfully so. She bowed. "I'm sorry for everything that was said about you in that interview. I truly am, really sorry."

He chucked her forehead and raised her head. "I'm not angry. Save your apologies for Sawara-san, who is in the Talent Section, being 42 going on 100."

"You're not angry?" she wondered out loud. He shook his head. "Even, if I used your good name and ridiculed you to the world?"

"Well," he mulled about out loud. "It really wasn't much ridiculing as you called it. But, you did it to save the movie and your drama's reputation. You know how the public goes, when a character has an undesirable image," he said with an amicable tone before his voice dropped low and his face turned threatening as he cornered her to the call. "But, if you did it to save your own hide, I would have been angry enough that you'd cry four or five years worth of tears."

Noooo!!! It increased! The threat of tears Tsuruga-san promised to make her cry out as penalty for her rash behavior from running out of Dark Moon, when she was preparing Mio, to now has increased!

She might as well get started now as tears suddenly fell out of her eyes. "I did! I said those things to save my own skin! I've worked so hard and went through so much for this movie that I was afraid that I won't even have a career in the end."

"Mo-Mogami-sa-?"

"I figured that all the PR Department will do, is to deny everything without giving an appropriate explanation that everyone will accept, and my image will still be questioned," she continued. "I was so scared that I might end up having a face-to-face encounter with that Beagle guy again! He's a denizen from hell and with the kind of luck I have, I might have…" She rubbed her eyes and started hiccuping.

The elevator doors opened just as Tsuruga-san moved forward to undoubtedly lash out at her. But there was a cry of panic just outside.

Kyoko turned her head and saw Yashiro-san looking at them in horror. "Ren and Kyoko-chan are alone together in the elevator," he dictated. "Kyoko-chan is in tears." He turned to Tsuruga-san and shouted, "Ren! What did you do???"

"Eh, no." Kyoko raised her hand. Tsuruga-san has gone through enough misunderstandings on his personality on her behalf. "Tsuruga-san was just teaching me proper etiquette."

"Etiquette?" The bespectacled man's eyes narrowed.

The two men walked with her through the hallway on the way to the Talent Section's office. Kyoko nodded. "Yeah," she mumbled. "About the proper usage of people's good name and image."

"Is that so?"

"But I'm really curious, Mogami-san," Tsuruga-san asked. "You got there pretty late so I doubt that you and the rest of your co-stars had time to talk about it. How did you know that they'd go along with what you were going to do?"

"Mmm…" She thought about it for a split second, trying to think about a good way to explain it. "Well, with the exception of Chiori-san, everyone else just knows me as Nacchan and the only thing we've really done when we see each other is bully people. Since, everyone is so concerned about the image of the show." She smiled at the two men widely and concluded, "Everyone would have just played along with their own roles. It was easy considering that Nacchan is the leader and everyone else is basically sheep. So, if I want chaos, I'll get chaos."

"Hah…" Yashiro-san and Tsuruga-san just stared at her.

She was surprised with the odd look on their faces. Maybe she didn't explain it well enough? "Well," she scrambled as she stopped in front of the Talent Section office. "It's not really as simple as you think."

* * *

"This is not good," Yukihito commented as they walked back to the elevators.

Sawara-san was definitely throwing a fit. The door was closed and they were moving away, but they could still hear his muffled shouts.

"She was prepared for it," Ren said calmly. "That's why she went straight here instead of going home."

"I meant that face she just put on," Yukihito countered. "To think she can turn Natsu on and off just like that… It was kinda scary."

"Well, it's not like you're not used to it," Ren chuckled. "Didn't you get enough of that when we were still doing Dark Moon?"

"I guess," Yukihito frowned. "But there's still a big difference between Mio and Natsu. She was just scary as Mio. What will happen if another guy would see that Natsu face? She would have him wrapped around her finger and manipulate him as she wishes."

"Only a weak-willed guy won't be able to see through that," Ren answered.

"Really?" he grinned at him. "You're a pretty strong-willed guy, but she has you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?"

Ren didn't say anything more, and Yukihito sighed at the boring man.

"And all these things that are happening around her…" Yukihito continued as he shook his head. "She's only been show business for a year or so and she's already been subjected to all these kind of gossip. I shudder at the thoughts about what will happen if any truth about what really happened to her came out."

"Well," Ren contemplated and answered something odd. "At least she's not boring."

"Not like you, you mean," he grinned snidely. The whole time he's been in charge of him, Ren has only been subjected to gossip once – yesterday.

Ren prove his boring-ness by giving him a dry look. "As a manager, don't you at least, feel sympathy for whoever will be assigned to her?"

"I guess??" he admitted. "I'm not really complaining," he said as they entered the elevator. "But I really have the most boring job in the world. People keep saying that they envy me because they either like you or because you're more behaved than other celebrities. But it's going to be really funny. Your reputations are turning out to be completely different. While you're still the most polite celebrity there is, she's getting the one you can't mess with." He relished in amusement about the contrast between them. But as they stepped into the elevator, he changed the subject. "By the way, why are you meeting with the President?"

"Huh?" he asked in surprise. He shrugged. "He just said something about the on-location shoot."

"Why?" he asked curiously. "It's only Hong Kong."

"Who knows…" Ren shrugged.

"Anyway," he shook his head as Ren stepped off the elevator into the President's floor lobby. "I'll either be in the Acting Section or the Love Me Section, in case Kyoko-chan gets too shook up by Sawara-san. If I'm not in either, just give me a call."

"OK," Ren nodded. And the elevator doors closed.

Yukihito pressed the floor for the Love Me Section floor. He walked up to the door, knocked as he opened saying, "Pardon the intrusion." But the room was empty. There was a duffel bag on the table, meaning Kotonami-san or Amamiya-san might be in. But the emptiness is just what Yukihito needed.

He casually took out his appointment book and walked up to the girls' schedule board. So two weeks from today, Kyoko-chan will be…

"So…" an ominous voice came up from behind him and Yukihito jumped. He quickly turned around and saw Kotonami-san eyeing him with an evil glint. "Now I understand how Tsuruga-san gets lots of free time with Kyoko…"

* * *

"You know... I really, really hate that fake angel."

"Beagle??? What Beagle??? Half of the stupid message board keeps calling us Beagle!"

"Arrrrrrrrrrrgh! I really don't like her."

Akazukin-chan gave a spectacular performance on television that night. The love button is still not activated. But she's still a demon. But... He sighed as he stood up and made his way to the door.

"Reino, where are you going?" Mikoru called. "Hey! We still have to talk about what we're going to do for your appearance in Music Heaven later!"

* * *

"....just don't ever do anything like that, ever again," Sawara-san finished. "You have to remember that you are a public figure now. Your entire self just doesn't belong to you. We have dozens of experts in the PR Department to help you out."

"Yes," she said contritely. She really did feel a little bad. "I understand."

"We really don't know what to do with you…" Sawara-san moaned. "You're still a newbie and you're already setting yourself up for impossible expectations."

"Huh?"

They just stared at each other for a minute. "You really don't understand what you just did, did you?" he said dryly. "You gave yourself," he explained, "a reputation that you're up there to bother with ordinary actors. Well, you partially earned it, with all the backing that you have from people like Ren and Director Ogata and a lot of other people. And now that you've addressed your negative press successfully, you just increased your reputation, garnering the attention of so many of people who now wants you to do more challenging and difficult roles."

What? Kyoko's face froze in mid-shock.

"In other words," Sawara-san crossed his arms over his chest. "You just made yourself look like a female version of Ren."

What the hell!?!?!? As her mind's creaky cogs started rolling again.

"The only question now is, if you can live up to the expectation," he concluded.

Kyoko felt the world spin. So fast that her appendages turned brittle and started falling apart. Her impulsiveness and inability to control her temper, just made her dig her own grave. She knew that she was starting to become a little better at acting, but… She started wishing she was dead!

"Mogami-kun?" Sawara-san stood up and placed his palms on the table. "Are you OK? You're turning a little blue."

What the damn hell did she just do??? Sure, she wanted this, but not for a few years. She wished to be placed in this position when she first started out to get her revenge. But, when she realized that she needed to work very, very hard; she didn't expect this for a few years at least. She needed to get better first. She's not stupid. She knew that if she's not able to meet her new expectation level, she'll never be hired again.

"Mogami-kun?" She heard Sawara-san call from faraway. Then felt something poke her shoulder and she staggered back.

His terrified squeal shook her back to reality.

"Now, why look so down?" Sawara-san tiled his head back as he rested his hands on his waist. "You're getting a variety in your offers now. A lot of them are still villain roles and horror movie roles. But, at least you're getting protagonist ones, too, for a lot of interesting projects and excellent directors."

"Variety?" Kyoko's eyes eyes started twinkling. "You mean… a princess role??? Or a fairy???"

"Awww…" Sawara-san gave her a gentle, fatherly smile. "You wish." Kyoko gasped at Sawara-san's mean-looking smile. "The only princess role I have has been offered are for Kotonami-kun, since her image and reputation is that of a gentle, loving, well-mannered young lady. Can you believe it?"

A big lump got lodged in Kyoko's throat and tears of disappointment sprang in her eyes. She wanted the princess role. Moko-san was right... They are going to end up being rivals.

"Oh yeah!" Sawara-san exclaimed. He reached back and handed her an envelope. "Here. Your travel documents for your location shoot on Sunday."

Kyoko just stared at him for a second then her mind started panicking again. She's been to engrossed with characterization, stupid rumors, and her nervousness; that she completely forgot about the location shoot for Kismet. And she was leaving on Sunday! It was already Thursday night and she has a packed schedule until Saturday night. She hasn't even done anything to prepare!

"Mogami-kun, please stop melting!"

She felt frustrated. When had she turned so irresponsible? Depressed, she made her way to the Love Me Section office. Moko-san mentioned that she might drop by tonight.

And she was there. She was really happy that she was. But the big surprise was that Yashiro-san was also there, sitting on her chair, as he nervously cooled his heels under Moko-san's terrifying, watchful eye.

* * *

Kanae and Kyoko were seated in a cafe after they did some light shopping for each others' location shoot - tomorrow for Kanae and Sunday for Kyoko. They talked about their work. Kanae complained about how the President and Matsushima-san rejected 'The Actress To Represent All Of Japan' as a title she preferred to counter her 'Co-Star Killer' title. And she finally told Kyoko about the full extent of Tsuruga-san's demonic tendencies as she shoved her Love Me record book to her.

Kyoko just stared at it for before raising an eyebrow at her, and said in a slow and deliberate tone, "You made him skip lunch???"

* * *

**  
Chapter Notes:**

- I deliberately didn't call Kyoko Natsu during the interview because I was blurring the lines between Kyoko and Natsu. So to speak, it wasn't exactly Kyoko, but it wasn't Natsu either. If that doesn't make any sense, sorry… that's the best explanation I can give. But why Nacchan??? I think that among all of Kyoko's "personalities", Nacchan is the only one who can stand up to Reino. Well, at least, in the direction where I wanted to go with future chapters. Mio only makes her more attractive to him.

- I'm starting to get the feeling that I'm writing Kyoko as someone who has too much self-doubt. But to be honest, I really see her like that. She's the type that thinks she's never good enough, which is why she usually ends up being excellent with everything - in addition to the fact that she's very talented.

- Yeah, yeah... I'll write a little bit more of the movie in the following chapters. I couldn't write it here because they weren't on the set. Well, I could have made them to be on set, but Kyoko already left it on the previous chapter. Expect something on chapter 16, then chapter 19 onwards. Sorry, Chapter 17 and 18 are already set in stone and cannot be adjusted. XD

- Why is there an overseas location shoot??? Everyone will learn at the end of Chapter 17 and the start of Chapter 18.

- Oricon is a chart survey thing. Kinda like Billboard in the US with a more... fun categories like "Celebrity You Want To Hug The Most" etc. You can Wiki it.

- Anyway, thanks to everyone who have been writing up reviews. I'm sorry that I have been replying to them as much like I used to in the earlier chapters. It's a busy time in my life right now so I'm only so lucky that I'm even able to complete a chapter for a week. *Sigh* Anyway, I hope you guys will be reviewing this chapter again. I really wanna know if I'm going insane. XD


	16. Chapter 16: Ren's Pillow

**Chapter Sixteen:**

**Dedication: **To Railway Station, your review of chapter 15 really made me think. Thanks!!!

**Acknowledgment: **Ecki for beta-reading.

**Disclaimer: **Give it a guess...

**Reading Notes: **When they're in character, it'll be written on the point-of-view of the character. Of course, once they break out of it, they'll be called Ren or Kyoko.

* * *

Kyoko opened her eyes on the first five seconds of her alarm. She waited ten seconds, but there was nothing.

She got up, put her beddings aside and stared at her room as she waited. There was still nothing.

She retrieved her bathing things and headed for the bathroom for her morning routine. When she came back, there was still nothing.

Happily, she got dressed for school, which had make-up classes for people in the Performance Arts Division on Saturday mornings. After that, she still had the shoot after lunch. She woke up extra early this morning just to have breakfast with taisho and okami-san. She's been so busy with work and school that she barely had time to spend with them. After she made sure everything she needed for the day were in her bag, she stared at her mobile phone for a minute. Still nothing.

She relaxed as she bounded down the stairs. She stopped and remembered something and went back to her room to retrieve a paper bag she purchased last Thursday with Moko-san, then made her way back down the stairs. She was actually afraid that the Beagle guy might come after her, but apart from a momentary sense of chill in the air yesterday outside the studio where Box "R" is being shot, nothing happened. It was a gorgeous Saturday morning, and she felt elated that for the second day in a row, there was nothing that shook her day. A lot of the gossip that surrounded her were still going around, but not as big as a couple of days ago.

Yesterday, she worked like a carthorse all morning, and early afternoon on Kismet; and the remainder of the afternoon and evening on Box 'R'. It was heaven.

No Sawara-san shouting worriedly over the phone. No stupid rumors. No stupid questions.

Until breakfast started…

"Kyoko-chan," the okami-san cheerfully asked. "When are you going to introduce us to that nice boy who drives you home?"

* * *

"You're late!" he scolded, eyeing the paper bag she held in her hand. "Did you go shopping? You're still such a kid."

"I am not late!" she exclaimed saucily, as she sat down on the chair across him. "I got here just in time. Barely beating the clock, but on time. And I didn't go shopping. I've had this with me for days."

He sighed. "OK… you're not late."

"You're just early," she said impishly, as she twirled the paper bag's string handles through her fingers before holding it out to him. "Here, for you."

He just stared at it for a second. "For me?"

"Yup," she nodded cheerfully. "Open it!" she instructed as he took the bag from him.

As he reached it, Chiaki leaned forward. "You really like that guy, right?" she asked as he pulled out an coffee table book. "I remembered in high school you have lots of his books and architectural digests that feature him lying around. I mean, didn't you go to that university because he taught there?" She queried.

Satoshi looked up at her in surprise. "I've never seen this one before."

"Well," she said. "One of the executives is the son of a book distributor. So I pulled some strings to get it. Since it won't be coming out until two months from now."

"Thank you," Satoshi beamed. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Huh?" Chiaki answered quizzically.

"You still like to buy random gifts for everyone," he said as he placed the book back in the bag, and placed it beside him.

"Well…" Chiaki smiled as the waitress set down the menu before them. "It's not random." She changed the subject. "Anyway, I only have two hours to spare. Yumemi's husband is requesting a meeting about someone who is interested in investing in the company." Without opening the menu, she ordered her usual "Hamburger steak and bottled tea, please."

"Um… tuna steak and bottled water," said Satoshi to the waiter. She hasn't had that for years. Speaking of which… "I'm really surprised that you suggested this place."

"Why?" Chiaki stared at him oddly. "We always went here when we were in high school. Yumemi, Akito and I hung around here a lot during college." Then she continued, "Well, I am still in college for another semester on top of work."

"Well…" Satoshi hesitatingly said, regretting to have opened the topic. "The last time I was here… I was with you. Just a little after…" and he let the words drift off, leaving it unsaid.

"The omiai?" Chiaki finished. She hesitated before continuing. "Yeah… things haven't been good between us after that, weren't they? But I figured that no matter how awkward it was," Chiaki hesitated a little before continuing, "I can't let that one time overshadow all the good memories we had here, which is why I came back."

"Yo!" a big booming voice called from behind him, and a hard slap hit the back of his head. Satoshi turned to see his older brother.

"Atsushi-nii-chan!" He exclaimed with dread, at the same time as Chiaki; while she said it enthusiastically.

"Yo, Chi-chan," Atsushi grinned back at her. "I heard Yumemi's husband is setting you up for a business meeting with some Chinese guy."

"Yup!" she nodded. "In Hong Kong, I'll be leaving in two weeks."

"Well, good luck with that," Atsushi replied. Then he suddenly caught himself and looked at her, then at Satoshi. "Wait, are you two…" he pointed. "…on a date? Does mother and father know about this?"

"No!" Chiaki blushed at the misunderstanding.

"Chiaki and I met at Yumemi's wedding a couple of weeks ago," Satoshi pointed out. "We're just catching up."

Of course, his older brother wouldn't let up. "I see… Well, don't let me interrupt the two of you!" He turned and waved, leaving the two of them looking embarrassed.

"He never changed," Satoshi muttered.

"Yeah…" Chiaki said, shifting awkwardly in her chair.

They sat there in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. Then thankfully, their waitress arrived with their food.

"Cut!"

"That was good," Director Shingai announced.

"OK," the assistant director called out. "It's almost eight-thirty. So, we'll be breaking for dinner before it becomes too late. After that, we'll be doing the individual shots in this order: Waitress-san, Atsushi, Satoshi, then Chiaki."

"OK!" everyone called out in reply.

Ren jumped off the raised platform as everyone started moving out. He turned to Mogami-san, in case, she needed assistance stepping down. She was wearing heels, after all.

"Ren!" Yashiro-san called out as he approached. "I'm just going to make a call in the office about these contracts before people start going home." he said as he waved several sheets of paper. He has been doing paper work on-set. Because, they'll be leaving for the location shoot at noon. "You go on ahead. I'll follow in about 15 minutes." Yashiro-san said as he walked away.

"OK," Ren nodded.

"You'll be eating with us, right, Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro-san asked.

"Sure," she cheerfully answered.

"OK!" Yashiro-san grinned. "I'll follow you guys." Then, he ran off to the direction of the administrative office.

"Why won't he just use his mobile phone?" she asked curiously.

"He answered a call earlier in the car and forgot his gloves. And, his spare is at home." Ren answered.

"Again?" said Mogami-san, emphatically.

"You know how he gets," Ren shrugged. "Anyway, shall we go?"

"OK," She nodded as she turned to the direction of the cafeteria then stopped. "Ah..., wait." She looked up at him. "I have to get something from the dressing room, so I'll just meet you there."

"I'll just wait for you here." said Ren.

"But-" she said hesitantly.

"Mogami-san," Ren interrupted. He was literally at the end of his rope when it comes to tolerating her belief that she inconveniences him every time for anything and everything. "If you just agreed, you'd be halfway to your dressing room already." replied like a parent scolding a child.

She just stared at him for a second before agreeing. "OK," she said. "I'll be back in a minute or two." Then with great poise, she turned around and walked to the dressing room area. Ren just stood and stared at her.

"She's a handful, isn't she?" a voice suddenly came from behind. Ren turned and saw Director Shingai, also trailing her with his eyes as she disappeared around the corner. "I almost had a heart attack; when I heard how she dealt with the Vie Ghoul rumor." He turned to Ren and smiled. "I'm surprised she's even interacting normally with you. I'm sure you gave her hell for using your name in her defense." Director Shingai said to Ren, "You never tolerated name droppers."

Ren, as a general rule, doesn't tolerate this sort of things. And, even if, it was Mogami-san, he would have given her a stern lecture on it. But, at the time, she was dealing with a dangerous stalker – someone who even worried him. Especially, when he seems to know that he was a foreigner. If one of the ways he could have protected her, was to let her use him, he'd let her. That was the reason why, he didn't agree with Sawara-san and Matsushima-san when they wanted him to lecture her on it. As long as, she didn't lie to him about her reason. That was fine with him.

"I guess, it can't be helped." The director sighed. "Her current image is based on evil antagonistic roles. So, I guess what she did was to be expected." Director Shingai continued, "But, she's definitely an attention getter." He crossed his arms behind his head. "There are people who saw what she did as a publicity stunt. But, I heard it got them interested enough with the drama, that the viewership ratings boosted last night. Either, because they liked her, or just wanted to see if she was that good to be bragging those things out." If their ratings stayed within that margin next week, it'll add on to her popularity." He mused.

Ren smiled, "Well, they did say that there's no such thing as good or bad publicity, right?" Ren said to the Director, as the Director continued. "Even though, there's nothing wrong with maintaining a clean image" suddenly, the director whined, "But…, I want her to have a wholesome and sweet image. The movie is supposed to be a light-hearted romance. If, she just stays the way that she is, the overall vision I have for this movie is... and will be… meh."

Meh??? Director Shingai is still such a kid, thought Ren.

Director Shingai directed the next sentence at Ren, "That's why…I'm glad that you passed the acting test and we have you as the male lead." Then, Director Shingai gave Ren a slap on the back. "The second choice has a reputation with girls, right? So, having someone with a clean-cut image like yours can help influence her current image. The level of acting that the two of you have, people will really think you're in love with each other." The director mused.

"Director!" one of assistants called out to him. "We need to ask you a question about the next scene!"

"Well," the director said cheerfully. "I'll leave you two alone." Then he disappeared from Ren's side.

Ren let out a long sigh. Now that he was performing on a more consistent level, he started seeing it.

And because of it, he will never take Mogami-san's kindness for granted again; because it was the strongest feeling that she'd been able to give him. He always thought that he's been making slow progress with her. But, he's been wrong about it.

Since the shoot has been going smoothly, Mogami-san has been able to assert herself more. Giving her opinions about how a scene might possibly be played out; based on the dialogue, the book, and her own insight, about how a girl in love should be acting. She was even the one who suggested Chiaki should have been very enthusiastic about giving the book to Satoshi. Instead of, the nonchalance that the script suggested. Because, she would be very excited about giving something, no matter how trivial, to someone important to her, was her reason. The Mogami-san he knew can be just as enthusiastic, but with him, they're all out of obligation. Ren was glad that she has been giving out intelligent suggestions. But…

It seemed, that her idea of what love should be like, is nothing compared to how she treated him.

* * *

She brought this upon herself, Kyoko scolded herself as she walked into her dressing room.

On her meeting with Sawara-san and Matsushima-san yesterday, she found out that the only offer she had for a similar role like Chiaki has been withdrawn. According to the section heads, her performance during the Box "R" promotional interview made the director think she might not be suited for the role.

But really… what else could she have done?

LME's PR Department would have just sent out a polite statement denying all the allegations; and leave everyone suspicious about her character. Box "R"'s Director Annaka, was happy about the unique way, she and the girls promoted the drama. Instead of killing the ratings, it made Box "R" a little more popular. That was never her intention though… She just went on survival mode. There's nothing wrong with keeping your name clean, right?

When she was presented with the range of offers she had, she became depressed.

Kyoko quickly became attached to Chiaki. After all, she was many of the things that she wanted to be – fashionable, surrounded by people who care about her, smart, brimming with good intentions and princess-like. And more importantly, capable of love. She was really enjoying the role, but she never thought she wanted it so badly.

Apart from entering show business for revenge. She entered show business, to regain her missing emotion - love, the two extremes. It's not that she ever wants to fall in love again. She's not stupid. She knew, it would take more than one role to change her darkened heart. But, the role was a start. How is she going to be able to accomplish that goal when her final shortlist came up with roles for weird personalities ranging from comedic ones to malicious ones?

The only thing that keeping her from being completely disheartened was Kuu-otou-sama's advice that she should single-mindedly act anything, regardless of the role, so she can get more.

But, in order to achieve her goal, she wanted more roles like Chiaki. Unlike Kuon, who allowed her to feel a whole range of emotions. Chiaki made her feel her missing emotions. This must be what her respected sensei said, about being addicted to a role. She enjoyed the part about having people worry about her, like her, care for her, and love her. She doesn't have that in her life.

She prayed that the movie would live up to the hype. Otherwise, she will never get the kind of image in the acting world, that will allow her to get more roles that will help her get her missing emotion back.

"Mogami-san?" a voice startled her. She saw Tsuruga-san standing by the door frame with a worried look on his face. "You said you'd be back in minute or two. It's almost been five minutes. Anything wrong?"

She quickly recovered and said, "No… I just spaced out for a while." She started looking around her dressing room area to hide her worry. "Now, where did I put that?" Then her eyes fell on the thing on her vanity mirror. She turned around, but she could see from the mirror that Tsuruga-san was looking at her. She picked up the paper bag and swiftly turned around, happily smiled and held it out to him with both hands. "Here. For you!"

But Tsuruga-san was here, Kyoko thought in her head. He is the best actor in the country. The guy they called the co-star killer. Even just a little, as an actor, he would help her regain her missing emotion, right?

Ren just stared at the paper bag for a few seconds. "For me?"

"Yup!" she smiled enthusiastically as he reached out and took the paper bag from her. "I was shopping with Moko-san the other day for our location shoots. I meant to give it to you, yesterday. But, I left it at home."

Ren felt strange. It was not like Mogami-san to impulsively buy things for people. Well, not for him anyway. He started racking through his head for things that he might have done, that would warrant an obligatory thank you from her. "What is it?" he asked as he opened.

"It's a travel pillow." Mogami-san answered.

"A travel pillow?" What the hell? Why? He took out a dark blue, suede rectangular pillow half the size of the ones he had at home from the paper bag.

"Well, it's not much, really… I just saw it, thought of you, and bought it." She laughed a little guiltily. "Remember? When we were in Karuizawa, you told me that you can't sleep without a pillow." She explained. "It is kinda weird, that you said that, but you never bring a pillow along everywhere you go. So when I saw it…" She looked up at him and twirled her fingers through her hair. "When I checked the shooting schedule, we'll be shooting a lot of the scenes, in the wee hours of the morning, so you might get tired and… well," she fidgeted hesitantly as she continued, "It would be kinda embarrassing to have to borrow your kouhai's lap again. In case, you needed to sleep." Then, she said with full conviction, "Also, I'll be running around The Peak in Hong Kong. Tsuruga-san, I hope you don't take this the wrong way. But honestly, you're heavy. My legs might really give out."

Crap! She actually believed and remembered, the uncool suspicious white lie he told her that time in the trailer? Of all the things...??? He was stunned and felt foolish. It was very, very embarrassing.

"Eh?" She looked at him nervously when he didn't answer her. Then she looked apologetic. "I-I'm sorry. I think I just got you a very stupid gift."

"No…" he assured her. He placed the pillow back in the paper bag. "It was very nice of you to remember." Liar, Ren cursed at himself. "Thank you. I really… like the color." Well, that wasn't a lie, he did really like the color. "I'll bring it to Hong Kong." But, only because she'd be disappointed if he didn't. And, Mogami-san will be suspicious, if he didn't bring one. He dejectedly thought to himself.

"Y-you don't have to," she said a little uneasily. "I mean, I just bought it on a whim. I really don't know, if you actually already have a travel pillow."

"No," he shook his head, making himself accept that this as his penalty for lying to her about it, that time. "It's nice." He quickly turned around. "I'll just put this in my dressing room then let's go to dinner, OK?" Because, he dreaded having any more of the lies he told her come back to haunt him.

It felt strange. But inwardly, he smiled.

* * *

Dinner went uneventfully. And Yukihito was not happy about it.

He should have just left them alone, Yukihito thought to himself. The Kismet shoot ends in a few weeks, and the two have made no progress. Well, he wouldn't say that there's no progress. After all, Kyoko-chan saved Ren from being fired. They've been subjected to rumors about being together. They have incredible screen chemistry together, and they've been declared romantic failures together. But, despite all that. Nothing, not a bit of change, even with his machinations. And now, that he and Ren have just made enemies with Kyoko-chan's best friend, the limited opportunities have just become more limited.

Speaking of which…

Yukihito turned uneasily to her as she stood beside him. All the while, as she watched the scene of Ren doing for the individual shots. "Umm… Kyoko…-chan…?"

She turned to him and asked in a low tone, "What is it?"

"About that time…" he started awkwardly. When she looked at him questioningly, he continued, "When Kotonami-san caught me looking through your schedule…" He smiled guiltily as he scratched the back of his head. "I was meaning to explain and apologize-"

Her wide eyes narrowed. "What for?"

"Um…" He answered nervously. "Because… I've been keeping tabs on your schedule?"

"Oh, that?" She waved her and reassuringly said, "Don't worry about it." She smiled at him. "It's kinda obvious what you've been doing."

"Really?" he thought nervously. Ren wouldn't be too pleased if he found out about it. Even though, at the back of his mind, Ren should be thanking him for all the times he gets to spend with Kyoko-chan outside of work – even from before.

"Yeah," she nodded. "You've been checking up on my schedule to make sure that outside of Kismet and LME, I don't get to spend time with Tsuruga-san." said Kyoko-chan, "Since, the PR Department said that, the two of us should be laying low and not be around each other so much, that rumors might start again." She giggled guiltily. "You must be having a headache because of us."

He was developing a headache alright. No, no… it's more like a migraine. Yukihito really admired and respected Ren's patience and stamina. This girl… jumping off a cliff was much easier than this. No wonder Ren kept lowering his happiness limit with her. This was like pulling teeth! He should have expected it though… This is Kyoko-chan they were dealing with. So, the only thing Yukihito can do was manage a weak "Yeah…"

"Um…" she suddenly said. "Yashiro-san???"

He turned to her. "What is it, Kyoko-chan?"

She let out a small smile and shyly said, "There's a favor I need to ask you…"

* * *

Sho couldn't believe his luck. He didn't think that he would be placed in a situation where he will see that twisted moron again. And, that sick idiot had the nerve to talk first. "Before you resort to your senseless, barbaric tendencies, there is something you should know."

Sho crossed his arms in ascent, waiting for whatever this guy had to say.

"I am no longer interested in Akazukin-chan." Reino told the rocker.

Sho waited for his reason.

"You can have her, if you still can."

He waited for a further explanation.

"That is all." Reino finished without ceremony.

Eh? "You're a lot weaker than I thought," Sho arrogantly declared as he tried to mask his surprise. "You gave up so easily. Why?"

With that question, Reino let out a malicious smile. "Any person would be weak against a lion, wouldn't they? Even you."

Huh?

"Akazukin-chan now belongs to the lion," he elaborated as he looked at him as though he was an idiot, for not understanding. "You were the one who released the demons, but the lion is their master. The lion can give them life, and can easily take it away, in one cruel move. And now, the demons lie dormant in fear of their master."

What? What lion? What demons? This guy is really weird!

Reino stalked towards him as he said, "It's such a shame. It was easier to get your place. But a delicate guy like me can't survive a lion's bite. I don't think you can, either." He stopped as they were shoulder to shoulder. "The place that Fuwa Sho occupies, in her heart, is smaller now. It's hardly becoming a worthwhile place to aspire for."

Sho's heart thudded. What did he mean by that? How would he know? Did this jerk go near her again?

"Did you see the interview?" He asked in a near whisper. "She no longer fears me." He started to walk away from him. "And when I tried to see Akazukin-chan yesterday, I almost didn't recognize her. Her darkness is fading. She's no longer interesting without her demons."

Instinctively, Sho reached back and grabbed Reino's collar. "Who said that you can go near her?"

Sho looked at him and saw him smile. "She did. We even made an exchange of promise last Valentine's Day."

"Then I guess…" A slow smile formed on Sho's face. "The violence I showed you, in Karuizawa, didn't quite sink in." Then he struck. "And next time, talk like a normal person!" he shouted.

* * *

Ren took a sip at the tea from the bottle, trying to get something into his system to keep him alert. Water wasn't doing it for him. It was almost one-thirty in the morning.

It was a long day of shooting, since they tried to finish as many scenes as possible. Also, since some of the cast and crew were going to be flying to Hong Kong tomorrow.

When the light signaled go, he moved the car forward. But, braked almost immediately, when he saw a speeding car from the far left, moving forward to beat the red light. The end result was, a slosh of tea, on his shirtsleeve.

"Ah ya ya," Mogami-san turned to him as he swore under his breath and capped the bottle. "Stupid law-breaking driver," she looked at the direction of the now-gone car.

He found her standing outside of the studio lot. She mentioned something about the car breaking down, and, that she was just waiting for the taxi she called to arrive. Of course, he wouldn't stand for it and just offered her a ride home. Even if they were scolded a few days ago, when Matsushima-san found out that he drove her home after Kimagure Rock.

He couldn't just leave her there when he conveniently had his car and a possibility that a stalker might be after her. It was a little after one in the morning after all.

"It's fine. It's just tea. It'll wash out." Ren answered as he carefully drove.

"It's tea, Tsuruga-san!" she exclaimed. "And from the looks of it, your shirt is cotton. And, it's cream colored! Cotton's a magnet for tea stains. If it dries up, it'll be hard to get out! You can't bleach it out because of the color."

"It's fine," he assured her as he turned to her street. "The dry cleaners will take care of it."

"You still have a fresh shirt, right? Or at least another shirt even if you used it earlier?" Mogami-san argued. "You should have that removed with warm water now. You can change at my place. There's a restroom in the restaurant."

"It's OK. There's no need for that." He stopped in front of her place. "Doesn't it feel uncomfortable driving with a wet, sticky sleeve?" Kyoko asked Ren with a serious look on her face. "Well, just a little. But my place is only 20 minutes away." Ren said.

"It'll dry up by then!" she answered in a reprimanding tone. "If you're not going to change, at least get the stain out now!"

They both had a long day. He has been on the go, since six-thirty in the morning; and they've been filming non-stop, since they got there, after lunch. He knew that she was tired, and had an early morning flight to catch tomorrow at eight. So, he just agreed. Besides, she looked only too happy to have won the argument as he took the key out of the ignition.

She turned and exclaimed in surprise. "Oh! They're still awake!"

Ren looked over and the lights of the restaurant were still open. The curtain that welcomed customers wasn't hanging on the door anymore though, meaning it was closed. "Maybe there's a private party?"

"No," Mogami-san shook her head. "Tomorrow is teppanyaki day so they're still preparing the meat for marinating. It's just the taisho and the okami-san in." She unlatched her seatbelt. "Let's go. Come on, don't be shy. It's just them."

After, grabbing a fresh shirt from his bag. Ren stepped out of the car. Ren stood around by the front door, while she dug around for the key. Under the light, she grabbed his forearm and examined the sleeve, "See??? What did I tell you? The stain's soaking through already. There's warm water in the restroom just dampen it until the stain's out, but don't rub it."

Mogami-san opened the door. A kind-faced woman holding a meat tenderizer as she banged on raw meat, turned to them in surprise. "Welcome home, Kyoko-chan!" She looked at her. Then at him. Then to his arm on her hand. "Oh my, my, my…" Ren got the suspicious feeling that his cheeks were warming up.

Mogami-san introduced him to Taisho and Okami-san. He politely bowed and greeted them, excusing his intrusion. He saw them at Kyoko's birthday party, but never got around to actually meeting them. The okami-san seemed nice. But the taisho crossed his arms, showing off a big butcher knife, as he said in a displeased, gruff tone, "It's nice to meet you." The man's stance seemed so menacing that Ren almost took a step back.

These… were the people who Mogami-san referred to as the gentle couple who are looking after her.

* * *

When Tsuruga-kun left after changing, and putting his wet shirt in a plastic bag Kyoko-chan provided. Kyoko retired for the night. The okami turned to her husband, and excitedly said, "See? I told you she'll be bringing a nice young man home, and introduce him to us, one of these days."

A vein was beating on her husband's temple as he continued to slice meat. "She said, that he was only here to use the restroom."

"Of course he was," she patronizingly smiled at him. Then she turned back to her daydreaming. "He has a handsome face and was very polite. They look adorable arm-in-arm like that. And he greeted us like a proper man, didn't he, dear?"

"He looks very suspicious to me," he answered with a disapproving tone in his voice.

She smiled. Of course he would think that. When it came to Kyoko-chan, every man will look suspicious to him.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- This chapter is nothing more than marshmallow fluff. I admit it!!! I don't know. Writing Chapter 14 made me fascinated with Taisho and what his impression of Ren would be. Yeah... I'm late to update. I got lazy writing. I've been doing this all summer. -_-'''

- Yeah... Sho is the one who got to Reino. But, I don't think it's the end of the Beagle yet. Well, for this fanfic anyway. Yeah, Ren can beat the crap out of Reino, but he's busy shooting sweety, disgusting scenes with Kyoko. Besides, I've always been weirded out about how to characterize Reino. Anyway, with the current arc running, I think we won't have to wait long for the answer.

- The Peak is a famous sight-seeing destination in Hong Kong. Just Wiki it... It's not going to have a big impact on the story since I write so little about the movie. - Sorry, Ecki, I deleted the notes you wrote in for it.

- Adjustments: I've adjusted the names from Boots to Boost. Typo... for several chapters. Yeah... I'm lying. I initially wrote in Boost because several fanfics have used Boost, but I started doubting myself before posting it and checked the scanlations and changed it to Boots. When kyoko minion pointed it out, I started searching for the tankobon (getting quality manga in my country sucks... has to be special ordered.) online and found that it is spelled as Boost. It was even in romaji. So all the Boots have been changed to Boost.

- Another Adjustment: I also placed in titles for the chapters. Actually, I did it for my own convenience since I am having trouble reading back which/what/where chapter I wrote in some parts.

- Last Adjustment: I changed all of the Yukihito-sans (from Ren's POV) to Yashiro-san. Well, I've only read the scanlations for some chapters where there are conversations between Ren and Yashiro and majority of the time, Ren has called him Yukihito-san. Anyway, I just changed it to Yashiro-san since the I read in the Chapter 140 raw translations that Ren does actually call Yashiro, Yashiro-san.

- You people are obsessed with two things: Natsu and Ren's eating habits.

- I don't know... I'm not really expecting reviews on this one XD I'm milking all the fluffy chapters for what they're worth at this point so I can give it a proper ending. So... Thank you if you're going to be so kind to leave one. And I'm sorry to everyone who I didn't get to reply to for the previous chapter. To be honest, I didn't know how to answer. ^^/


	17. Chapter 17: Kyoko's Invitation

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Acknowledgment: **Runadaemon for beta-reading.

**Dedications: **Bloody_Rose021 and Ecki ^^

**Disclaimers apply.**

**

* * *

**

It was a Sunday and more than half of LME's employees were taking the day off.

The few people who came in for overtime were in an uproar. The news traveled from ear to ear as though there were no empty desks between them. It was too delicious, and too rare an occurrence that it just couldn't be ignored: Tsuruga Ren was in the Acting Section being scolded by Matsushima-san and Sawara-san, who came in on their day off just to do so.

"Weren't the two of your supposed to be lying low?" Matsushima-san asked. He raised another gossip magazine with him and Kyoko arm-in-arm outside the Daruma-ya. "Its not on the front page since the two of you had your backs turned. But this is still kinda hard to ignore. The two of your weren't even in disguise." He looked dismayed.

"It's good that no one really knows that Mogami-kun lives there… yet," Sawara-san reasoned well-meaningly. "If the press finds out, they'll hound that place and interrupt their business. At least, because it's a restaurant, they only wrote that the two of you were just dropping by for a bite to eat, took the picture and left."

"Well," Matsushima-san shook his head. "It's really hard to put the blame on anyone other than you, since you're the one with the car."

"I already said that I went inside to use the restroom," Ren argued.

"Oh really?" Matsushima-san looked at him dubiously. "You expect us to believe that whole tea story?" Then he looked like he just realized that he's had too many experiences with countless actors who had given him countless excuses for countless blunders. "Sorry," he amended. "You're not really known to be a liar. You're just being too careless."

"It's a good thing that Mogami-kun left so early to fly off to Hong Kong. At least the press won't suspect that she lives there." Sawara-san shook his head.

"Anyway," Ren reasoned. "It was almost two in the morning. I couldn't just let her go running around trying to get home by herself, especially with that stalker coming after her. The last thing that was really on our minds was being tailed by the media."

Yukihito let out a devilish grin. Somehow, it was a joy to see Ren in a situation like this for a change. Well, it's not like he hoped this would become a regular thing. But there was something oddly hilarious about seeing a contrite Ren being reprimanded like a school boy.

"And what about you, Yashiro-kun?" The head of the Action Section turned on him. "Where were you all this time? I remember that you're the one we talked to about this. Instead, it's almost like you're helping them."

"Eh?" Yukihito nervously pushed his glasses back. "Erm... Actually..." He couldn't exactly say that he was. He'd get yelled at. He could feel Ren's wry, triumphant look on him. Damn Ren… He did drop him off first, after all.

"Never mind," Matsushima-san shook his head and turned to Ren. "We know what a gentleman you can be and your intentions were well-meant. It's good that your compassion towards others hasn't changed. But we also know that you value your privacy. However, because you and Mogami-kun are in a movie together already, and you have gossip circling about the two of you, it's natural that people will be following you around." He smirked down at Ren. "You're not familiar with how the gossip magazine industry works, are you? This is the first encounter that you've had with them since you debuted."

"Of course I am," Ren answered. "That's why I've been avoiding them all this time."

"Anyway," Sawara-san said. "Dark Moon is already airing in several countries around Asia so the two of you might be recognizable. You're pretty well-established already, but Mogami-kun is still a newbie. The two of you can't have a private life if you go out in public. But to be honest…" He looked at Ren and shook his head.

"Just…" Matsushima-san finished. "Don't do anything to make the rumors between the two of you worse. Knowing you, you're taking on the responsibility of looking after her. That would be good, it being her first location shoot overseas and all. Just be mindful, OK?" He Turned to Yukihito again. "I hope you can look after them better. I wish Mogami-kun had a manager already, but the President said that it wouldn't be fair until this movie's done."

"And here I always thought that you'd be a good influence on her," Sawara-san sighed. "Instead of you rubbing off on her, it became the other way around. But, I guess it makes you more interesting." He stared at Ren appraisingly. Then he stood up and coughed. "Anyway, the two of you have a flight to catch. And I have lunch with my wife and kid. The car to take you two to the airport is waiting outside."

* * *

Ren was frowning after the two section heads walked out of the door while Yashiro-san finished a call. This is the first time inn his entire career in Japan, heck, in his entire life, that he has ever been scolded like a fifteen-year old newbie idol who does stupid things.

"I'm done!" Yashiro-san exclaimed as he set the desk phone down. He turned to him and asked, "Ready?"

"Yeah," Ren answered as he stood up and walked over to his luggage, which was set by the door alongside Yukihito-san's.

Actually, he was more annoyed with himself. He'd always been careful with his own image. But now that he had to be mindful of both his and Mogami-san's image, he's been too reckless.

"By the way," Yashiro-san turned to him. "I was wondering why we didn't fly with the rest of the cast and crew on the early morning flight."

Actually, there was a reason. But he couldn't tell Yashiro-san that, so he just shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe the 8 AM flight was already full or the person who booked it didn't know?" He bent down to pick up his luggage and the rest of the things he brought along for the trip. "Anyway, as long as we get there and we didn't cause any problems because of it, this should be fine, right?"

"What is that?" Yashiro-san asked, pointing.

"What?" Ren looked behind him. There wasn't anything behind him.

"That," he repeated. "What is that… that thing in your hand?"

"A pillow," he answered slowly.

"What for?" he asked as they started walking down the hallway.

"What else do you use a pillow for?" Ren shrugged, trying to keep the answers short and unsuspicious to his manager, who smelled suspicious behavior a mile away. "For sleeping, of course. Well, my usual pillows are about three times bigger though, so they would have been inconvenient to bring along."

"Why?" Yashiro-san raised an eyebrow.

He might as well go with the lie. It was harder to explain if Yashiro-san and Mogami-san got together to talk about it and caught him in it. And he would rather die first before he told to his manager the circumstances as to why he had a pillow with him. "Because I can't sleep without a pillow."

"Since when?"

"Does it matter since when?" he asked in an exasperated tone. His manager was becoming a nuisance with all these questions, which are all probably aimed at getting more things to tease him about with Mogami-san.

"Of course it matters." Yashiro-san eyed him closely. "Ren, I am your manager. It is not only my job to arrange your schedule and make sure you get to all of the appointments. I'm also here to oversee your well-being. I may not be as thorough as Kyoko-chan when she became your temporary manager, but I also look after you, OK? Are you having problems sleeping? Since when? Are you getting insomnia? I can book a specialist for you when we come back."

And for a moment, Ren saw a glimpse of the old Yashiro Yukihito, the manager who is always serious and sensible when it comes to work. The last time he saw that was before they met Mogami-san.

"I mean," Yashiro-san shook his head. "I have to make sure you don't lose face in front of Kyoko-chan. What will she think if she ever found out that you do uncool, unmanly-like things like not being able to sleep without a pillow?"

No, he was wrong. It's the same Yashiro Yukihito he's been working with for the last year. Post-Mogami-san Era.

* * *

"Are you sure that you don't want to go with me?" Oohara-san asked for the millionth time.

"It's fine," Kyoko smiled. If she went along with her, she'd be too jealous. She didn't know that there is a swimming pool in the hotel and that the cast members were planning to have a pool party. She was itching to go. But she'll be damned if she bought a super expensive bathing suit in the hotel lobby shop when she had a perfectly nice one back in her room in Tokyo. She wasn't familiar with the area and might get lost so she couldn't go out. "Besides, Tsuruga-san is due to arrive in half an hour and I promised to meet him once he settles in."

Oohara-san chuckled and said, "Kyoko-chan and Tsuruga-san have always been very good friends. Even before in Dark Moon." Friends? People really do mistake the kind of relationship she and Tsuruga-san have. But before she could correct the misconception, Oohara-san gasped and her eyes twinkled. "Maybe he'll go swimming too! Kyoko-chan, you definitely have to tell him about it."

"I'll tell him about it," Kyoko promised. Yeah… the female cast would love that.

Oohara-san broke out of her daydreaming and turned to her. "Anyway, if you change your mind, you know where we are. We're ordering an entire spread of food so if you get hungry, just eat there."

"OK." She gave a short laugh and waved as Oohara-san closed the door behind her.

Kyoko sighed her disappointment away.

It was almost four in the afternoon. They arrived in Hong Kong at ten, and had an early lunch before settling in their rooms. The actors who went to the location shoot were killing time since they'll be filming the nighttime scenes in the streets of Hong Kong at two-thirty in the morning. The director and the crew were out blocking the locations and taking scenic and panoramic shots of the city.

As she looked around the room to find something to do, her eyes fell on the script and frowned.

Tonight was going to be a long shoot. For the first time since she started enjoying her role in the movie, she wasn't looking forward to tonight's shoot very much. But she knew she had to prepare for it. She moved to grab the script from the table when her phone rang. Instinctively, she picked up the call. She didn't bother looking at the caller ID, 80% of the calls that she recieves are always unidentified callers anyway. "Hello?"

"Mogami-san?"

"Tsuruga-san!" she exclaimed in surprise. Well, she did tell Oohara-san that she promised that she'd meet him when he arrived, but that was a lie. So his call came as a total surprise.

"We just arrived here at the hotel," he said. "Yashiro-san just finished checking us in and we're headed to our rooms. I haven't seen anyone in the cast or crew anywhere so I didn't know who to call just to say that I arrived. Even the director's not answering the phone."

"Oh..." Kyoko answered. "Well, the director and the crew are taking shots of the city. And everyone's in the seventh floor pool area."

"Are you there right now?"

"No," she answered. "I'm actually in my room right now, studying the script. But I was thinking of taking a break, have dinner, study some more then just head to bed for a long nap before the assembly time." She let out a small, embarrassed laugh. "But I was actually waiting for you because there's something I have to ask you."

"Mmm? What is it?"

"Kyoko-chan~!" Yashiro-san's familiar voice called out from the other line. It sounded a little far away so it didn't seem that Yashiro-san grabbed Tsuruga-san's phone. "Ren didn't eat any lunch in Japan and he didn't eat on the plane."

Really... this guy... "Tsuruga-san..." she said in a scolding tone. "Why don't we just talk about it while we have something to eat?"

"I still have to settle in my room," Tsuruga-san said. "But we can talk while I do that. After, we can eat. What do you say? Unless you just want to wait until I'm done then we can talk while we eat."

Well... his first suggestion was a whole lot more comfortable than talking about it with him while they eat since other people might overhear. And that would be super embarrassing. She might as well take advantage of the first offer and accept.

As long as he promised to eat after.

* * *

Ren was hurriedly putting his things away. He opened the closet and found a little safe meant for valuables at the corner. He was just about to reach for his work bag to store things like his travel documents and things when there was a knock on the door.

He walked towards the door and, through the peephole, saw Mogami-san.

She was fast. The call was only about 20 minutes ago. He opened the door and greeted her, "You want me to eat that badly?"

"Well," she frowned. "Knowing you, you probably just had a couple of drinks and ate the peanuts in the airplane."

"You're rude, you know that?" He frowned back at her. Then declared indignantly, "I did not eat the peanuts."

"All the more reason why you need to eat." She crossed her arms and sighed. "Honestly… A little alcohol is fine. But at least drink when you have something in your stomach. Think about your poor liver!"

"I'm just not a glutton, ok?" Ren reasoned as he stepped out and closed the door behind him.

"Eating properly doesn't make you a glutton!" she argued. "I don't see how eating convenience store junk and fast food doesn't make you one either. They're just empty calories that makes you eat more because they don't fill you enough!"

As they walked through the hallway towards the elevator, Ren realized that he was enjoying their little argument. Food was the only topic that Mogami-san can passionately and openly talk to him about without a single thought of walking on eggshells because she might offend him.

"What about Yashiro-san?" she suddenly asked. "Won't he be joining us?"

"Well, he was pretty worn out from rushing paperwork yesterday and this morning so he said that he'll just take a nap before eating," he answered.

"Alright," she nodded.

"Where do you want to eat?" There were several restaurants within the hotel and a lot more in walking distance outside.

"Actually," she slowly answered. "I want to go to the pool area. A lot of our cast mates are having a pool party. Oohara-san said that we should follow when you finally catch up with us. They ordered an entire spread so there'll be enough for everyone."

Well, he really wanted to spend time alone with her, but she looked like she really wanted to go. And since it's another risk if they're photographed alone together again, no one will really find it suspicious that they're together with the rest of the cast there. "Sure," he answered. "I'll just keep you company poolside."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You can also go swimming if you like. I actually want to, but I just didn't bring a bathing suit."

"Nah," he smiled. "It's OK. We'll eat there."

He couldn't really complain because she looked so happy about it.

"Everyone will be happy to see you!" She exclaimed as he pressed the down button. "And speaking of which…" She suddenly hesitated that he turned to her. "Um… Tsuruga-san…"

"What?" It looked like the thing that she wanted to ask him was about to be asked. Whatever it was, it probably had something to do with tonight's shoot. Belatedly, he realized that instead of going inside his room to talk as they agreed, they just started walking out. But she didn't look like she minded. So...

"Erm…" She started shifting her weight from one foot to another. She hesitated before finally saying. "Do you… have work the evening we go back to Japan?"

"Wednesday?" They'll arriving in Japan at ten in the morning. Since the location shoot dates were announced, Yukihito-san cleared the whole day so he can rest. Nick, one of his modeling friends in Armandy invited him for a drink with a bunch of other friends for the evening, but he hasn't committed yet. "Nothing definite. Why?"

"Well…" She started tapping her index fingers together. "Actually, it's the second Wednesday of the month so the Daruma-ya will be closed. Taisho and the okami-san will be out visiting relatives and I have Kimagure Rock from five 'til eight, So, I was just wondering… If you're free…" She hesitated. "Do you want to… come over… for dinner?"

Ren thought that he was hearing things. "Dinner? At the Daruma-ya?"

"Well," she laughed nervously. "Not with the usual menu of the restaurant. I did say that it was going to be closed and the taisho and the okami-san won't be there so… I'll be cooking."

There had to be a catch. This is Mogami-san. There has got to be a catch.

"Mogami-san…" He started, thinking the only thing that he could with the situation that she was in right now. "Could it be that… you're afraid to be home alone? Because of the stalker?"

"Stalker?" She looked up at him wonderingly. "Ah!" And Ren saw in her eyes that she just realized that because the stalker was back for a third time, there really might be the possibility that he would be coming after her. Really this girl… She just realized it NOW??? Did that mean that she's been running around Tokyo like a carefree girl for the last two days? She probably thought that because she gustily made her point on television three days ago, she's been walking around with false confidence? "N-no way! I would never invite you with such ulterior motives. I mean, I'm sure there are a lot of better things that you'd rather be doing than look after me."

"Then why?" He really didn't have anything else to work with for a possible reason other than that. But even if that was the reason, he'd go. He'd even volunteer his place since it has a far better security system.

"Fo-For the joy of eating!" she exclaimed. Then she let out a nervous laugh. "Actually… I learned that Moko-san made you skip lunch last Tuesday and…"

He knew it. That was the catch. "Mogami-san," he interrupted her. "You don't have to be the one to make up for Kotonami-san's mistake on the job." Well, it wasn't like he was going to decline. "Anyway, I don't think that eating another day to off-set a missed meal from another will make up for it. Besides, we're going to eat now, aren't we?"

"This is different!" She met his eyes and the determined look on her face said that she was not taking no for an answer. "I want you to come!"

Since the chances of spending an evening with her were slim to none, and that fact that she was the one to ask were slimmer, Ren didn't want to push his luck and dare question it anymore. Especially since it meant that he will get to eat food she prepared specifically for him. Not counting the Christmas Party where only the first plate was prepared by her, it's been more than a year since he's had his fill of Mogami-san's home cooking. Besides, he figured, his friends won't miss him.

"No good?" she hesitantly asked him. He turned his attention back to her and noticed she looked worried.

"Sure," he answered agreeably. "I'd love to come. What time do you want me there?"

"Um… Is nine OK with you?"

"Nine it is."

"Then it's decided!" She gave him a very happy, very cute smile.

Ren was totally caught off-guard. He just stared at her for a second. Then slowly, he felt himself gravitate towards her. She wasn't moving forward, but she didn't look like she was going to pull away either. The ping of the elevator sounded so far away.

"Ack!" someone shouted. "Kuon!?" The name and the voice, clear and familiar, rang into Ren's ears and made him freeze on the spot. Dread filled him as he slowly turned his head and found Kuu and Julie Hizuri – his parents – standing inside the open elevator car.

Mogami-san also turned her head and an elated smile wreathed her face. "Sensei~!!!"

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- This is actually a very short chapter. Actually, I consider it more of a filler. It was intended to be longer, but I just spilled it over to the next chapter. Because if I put that here, this chapter would be… ten thousand words??? I put the blame on Kanae for making Ren skip lunch. Well, next chappie will be Kuu, Julie, Ren and Kyoko in a situation together...

- Short traveling note: Travel time between Japan and Hong Kong via plane is roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours. There is only a one hour time difference between the two countries so it would seem like 3 hours.

- I could have ignored this, but it was so glaringly obvious that there's a misconception about honorofic usages by so many Japanese-dub anime fans that has bothered me for years. Everyone who is accustomed to Japanese would know the honorifics -kun 君 and -chan ちゃんare not gender-specific. They're just more commonly used for boys and girls, respectively, but not exclusively. The use of -kun 君 in Skip Beat! is used in reference to an address used for someone who is of junior status in the workplace, because the use of -chan ちゃん is considered too informal for and rude in a business setting. If you have any issues about Sawara, Matsushima and the President addressing Kyoko as Mogami-kun 最上君 (although Sawara has been shown to call Kyoko as Mogami-san 最上さん at times), I suggest you write a letter to Nakamura-sensei and tell her that since she is the one who made the three characters address Kyoko in the Japanese version of the manga like that. While you're at it, ask why Kyoko refers to Sho as Sho-chan when she was still in love with her and why Jelly Woods calls Ren Ren-chan.

- Argh! Ren can't get a friggin' break. How many times has he tried to kiss Kyoko in this fanfic... Even I'm getting pissed off. Sorry. Looks like we'll all have to wait for the time when they shoot the kiss scene for that. How sad for Ren - the first kiss from the girl he loves and it has to be because of a script.

- I wrote in Kuu and Julie's name in the Western order because the manga wrote Kuu's name as Kuu Hizuri - which created the confusion as to what his first/last name would be.

- Well, since this is a filler chapter... Reviews would be appreciated but not expected. o/


	18. Chapter 18: Ren's OyaBakaTachi

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Acknowledgment:** Runadaemon for beta-reading and additional edits.

**Disclaimers apply.**

**

* * *

**

Incredible.

Who would have thought sensei's wife would have turned out to be such a Tsuruga Ren fangirl?

And at her age too. She's probably around her late thirties or early forties, if she factored in Kuon's age, which according to what sensei said from before should be around 20 or 21 already. But she was so beautiful... like an elegant, regal queen. She momentarily daydreamed about palaces and gorgeous gowns on her. It's no wonder sensei referred to her as a 'living jewel'. Very good genes there. And mixed with sensei, Kuon must have been a god.

Still, it was a wonder sensei seemed only momentarily bothered when Julie-san practically flung herself into Tsuruga-san's arms crying out 'I'm so happy to finally see you after all this time!' just to greet him. Well, it was probably a Western thing. Poor Tsuruga-san looked so distraught and unsure of what to do when that happened. She wondered what would have happened if his trusty Curtain of the Night was there. Nah... Yashiro-san would most likely have been just as mesmerized as she was to do anything.

And somehow, she and Tsuruga-san found themselves eating an early dinner in the hotel restaurant that offered a full service eat-all-you-can buffet with them. Actually, that was her doing. When she found out that they were on their way to dinner before their flight, she asked if she and Tsuruga-san could tag along. How timely. Seeing her dai-sensei just when she got into the situation he told her about.

"It's really a surprise," she commented as she turned to him. "I heard that there was a Hollywood actor staying here, but I heard he checked out this morning. And I didn't expect it to be you or that you'd still be here, sensei."

Sensei looked up from his fourth plate and gave her a frown of displeasure. It looked a lot like the look he would give her when he was going to flick her forehead. "How many times have I told you to address your father properly?" he sternly asked.

She pouted. "You were the one who started it, you know." She frowned up at him. "Of course I'll end up calling you 'sensei' since you called me 'Kuon' first, like we're still doing the acting exercise, otou-san." She didn't have problems saying it to him. Tsuruga-san knew about the acting exercise with otou-san anyway.

He blinked at her then suddenly changed his demeanor and smiled, "Yes, I'm actually accompanying Julie for her work. They're preparing for Hong Kong Fashion Week." He turned to the SP and declared, "One more plate!"

"But I thought Hong Kong Fashion Week won't be until January next year." She read about it in one of the magazines she flipped through in her boredom earlier.

"It takes months to prepare," Julie-san explained in fluent Japanese. "We're actually running a little late. Anyway, we were supposed to take an early flight back to America this morning. But there was a problem at work that I had to attend to so we're taking an evening flight instead." She turned to Tsuruga-san, who was seated across her and beside Kyoko, and dreamily added, "I'm so glad we are..."

Yup, Julie-san was definitely in full fan-girl mode, she thought as she cut her steak.

"Kyoko-chan?" Julie-san turned to her.

"Yes?" she asked as she put the piece of steak in her mouth and started chewing.

"Is Tsuruga-kun your boyfriend?" she cheerfully asked.

Tsuruga-san dropped his fork and it clattered loudly against his plate. And the piece of steak she had in her mouth got caught in her windpipe and she started choking. Her vision started to blur but she felt Tsuruga-san's hand on her back and saw Otou-san holding out a glass of water for her.

"Julie!" Otou-san scolded his wife as Kyoko recovered by drinking her water. "Don't embarrass your child by asking weird questions like that!"

"Eh? Why not???" Julie-san answered with child-like impertinence. "You know how hard it is to be a celebrity and be in a relationship at the same time in Japan! It's not like in America where people would think it's amusing and cute. Why else would they be here together if not on a date?"

Kyoko wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Julie-san totally misunderstood her relationship with Tsuruga-san! How embarrassing it must be for him! Being posed a question like that. She wasn't sure who to soothe first. No, she has to be systematic about this. First she had to clear up the matter with Julie-san. Besides, who goes off to other countries just for dates???

"Hmmm..." Otou-san stroked his chin. "You have a point there, honey."

WHAT THE-!?!?!? Even he was following Julie-san's weird logic!!!

Then with a dramatic flourish, Otou-san said, "To think that a child of mine, who I nurtured all this time would overlook coming home to go vacationing with a significant other..." Then he buried his eyes on his shirtsleeve and faked a sob. "And all this time, I thought that my baby has been doing nothing but work hard in Japan to become an accomplished thespian." He sniffled. Badly.

OK... That was a little too fake. Kyoko thought wryly. Even for a newbie actress like her. To think this man is supposed to be a top-notch, world-class actor.

"Actually..." Tsuruga-san started speaking with a dry, exasperated tone.

No!!! Tsuruga-san thought they're weird! Well, they were but... No! Tsuruga-san was known for his temperance and good nature when it comes to getting along with others. Considering that this was _the _esteemed Kuu Hizuri and his wife, he should have been considering it as an honor. But, he's actually treating Otou-san like he was an impertinent boy who is annoyed with a parent. Oh no... Kyoko panicked. Tsuruga-san's true nature might really come out just because Otou-san's assumption might have come across as rude to him. She didn't know that the teasing about their relationship made him THAT annoyed. Wasn't he the one who kept telling her to just laugh those things off???

"Mogami-san and I are here for work," Tsuruga-san continued with nonchalance. "We're shooting her movie debut."

Otou-san instantly sobered up, raised his head and turned to her. "Kyoko-chan, you're debuting?"

Trying hard not to look too proud of herself, she let out a cheerful smile and nodded.

Otou-san let out a smile filled with pride and warmth. "That's great!"

"And," Tsuruga-san continued as he finally picked up his fork. "She's got a whole range of offers at the moment. Plus, she was named the person who stole the title of 'Co-Star Killer' away from me."

What the hell!?!?! Tsuruga-san almost sounded like he was bragging about things about her. Even the crap written about her in the gossip magazines! Well, he said it with nonchalance, but it was like he wanted to let otou-san and Julie-san know about her "achievements". In her mind, she hoped that Tsuruga-san might be a little proud of her as a senpai. But he didn't need to let her dai-sensei know about how little she's accomplished since they time they last saw each other.

"Really~?" Otou-san turned to her and gave her a look of appraisal. Kyoko looked up at him nervously. Then he let out a thumbs-up. "That's my girl!"

Surprised, she stared at him. Then she started to realize... That's right... She forgot. This man is an oya-baka, a doting parent who will be proud of anything and everything as long as it's his child.

"But that puts you in an awkward position, doesn't it, Tsuruga-kun?" Otou-san asked as he held out his plate to an SP, who promptly took it. Another one appeared on his other side to replace it.

"Huh?" she and Tusruga-san asked in unison.

He pointed at him and asked. "You do have plans to steal that title back, don't you?" Otou-san smirked and continued. "You're not letting this little girl just take it from you without any effort, are you? Won't you consider that as a kick to your pride as an actor? As a man, even? Having a little newbie seventeen-year old easily take it away from you."

That was his question? Kyoko stared at him. Well, so much for being an oya-baka. It was like he was encouraging Tsuruga-san to go for it. Well, it's not like she's done anything to deserve the title. As far as she was concerned, that title still belonged to Tsuruga-san.

"Of course I do," Tsuruga-san answered simply, turning his attention to his plate of pasta. He turned to her and smirked that certain way that made Kyoko feel like a rabbit about to be pounced on. "I'll give her a run for her money."

Satisfied, otou-san grinned and said, "Give her hell!"

"Otou-san!!!" Kyoko cried out. She has already seen hell! More than half of the reason was because of this guy!!!

"What's up, Kyoko-chan?" Kuu grinned at her. "Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition to keep you on top of your game, right?"

The only thing that Kyoko could do was let her face fluster at the laughable prospect of being competition for her senpai.

After that, dinner became comfortable and fun. Otou-san admonished the "Boss" for letting her debut in such an unchallenging role for her talents - but he probably wasn't sure what the Love Me Section was all about. Julie-san continued to fangirl Tsuruga-san, telling him to eat more and inviting them both to come over and play in America. Otou-san ate some more and was scolded by Julie-san for eating too much. Tsuruga-san announced he was full after a plate and a half and was scolded by her for not eating too much. Somehow, Tsuruga-san interacted with otou-san and Julie-san with genuine charm. None of the harsh rays of his fake, gentlemanly smile.

And Kyoko was happy.

Because dinner was something just like what Otou-san said they liked. In her heart, this is what a meal with family should be like.

* * *

An hour and several return trips to the buffet later - less than several for him, more than several for his father - Ren and Mogami-san stood in the lobby as they said farewell to his parents.

It wasn't a sad goodbye because he knew that they'll see each other again.

"I'm sorry if they're weird."

Ren looked down at Mogami-san's apologetic face. She looked kinda distressed. Probably thinking that their eccentricity got to him. But, his parents have always been like that. "Really?" he grinned. "I didn't think so..."

"You didn't?"

"I mean..." he smiled down at her. "Would you have preferred them any other way?"

Mogami-san thought about it for a split-second then shook her head, smiling widely. Then she stopped as though she remembered something. Then without another word she stepped forward calling out, "Sensei! There's something I need to ask you!"

His father stopped, turning around just as Mogami-san ran up to him.

Ren never expected things to work out the way they did.

When the President met him about the location shoot, he learned that his parents were also going to be staying in the same hotel as they were but were leaving on the day they arrived. But they would have overlapped each other. According to the President, since the video he made for his parents last December, his mother was more determined to go to Japan than ever before. But since work commitments brought her to Hong Kong - and it being a short 2-hour plane ride to Japan, his father accompanied her because they feared that the temptation of it being so near Japan might drive her to jump on a plane flight. So, as a result, he opted to take a later flight since it wouldn't have conflicted or caused problems with the filming schedule. Just to be safe.

It wasn't like he didn't want to see them again. But like the time his father came to Japan, he didn't want everything he's been working so hard for all these years to fall apart because he wouldn't have been able to prevent himself from going soft on them.

And he almost did. Right from the moment his mother jumped into his arms. Then again, when his parents started asking questions about his relationship with Mogami-san.

It was almost a blessing that Mogami-san was there. If she hadn't, the whole family probably wouldn't have been able to keep up the pretenses they created when he left home.

He stared ahead as his father finished whatever it was he was telling her and ruffled her hair. His mother gave her a kiss on the cheek. Well... he never doubted that they would like her. Even if she can be weird, always has an odd train of thought and occasionally has violent mood swings.

"Tsuruga-kun!" his father called out to him. "Take care of my little girl for me."

Ren smiled at them and bowed his head. Then he moved to walk to Mogami-san's side.

His parents smiled warmly before turning away. Then his father stopped and turned to the left and said to someone who just stepped out of the elevator, "I know you! You're Tsuruga-kun's manager."

"Eh?" Yashiro-san exclaimed in shock, unable to move from his spot.

"Take care of that boy for me," he pointed at Ren without turning to him.

"Y-yes, sir!" Yukihito-san stammered.

And finally, Kuu and Julie Hizuri disappeared through the hotel doors and into the car taking them to the airport. Ren turned to her and was surprised to see a distressed look on her face.

But before he could ask her what was wrong, his manager ran up to him, his arms flailing. "Re~en! Kuu... He remembered me!..."

Well, of course he would. Yashiro-san was his manager after all. "That's great," he said so Yashiro-san to calm his manager down.

Yashiro-san turned to the front of the hotel as the door behind his parents closed. "And that was his wife, right? The model who was once called 'The Most Beautiful in the World'?"

"Huh?" Mogami-san broke out of her stupor and turned to the car as it pulled away. "'The Most Beautiful in the World'? That was her?"

Ren and Yashiro-san turned to her. "What do you mean by that, Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro-san asked.

"Eh... well," Mogami-san smiled up at him. "Remember, Tsuruga-san? When you were giving me modeling pointers for Natsu, you told me that you were teaching me the points of the model who was called 'The Most Beautiful in the World'. Did you mean... Julie-san?"

He inclined his head to give her an affirmative as he hoped that she won't ask how and why. He wouldn't have any idea how to answer that.

Of course, Mogami-san being Mogami-san, she didn't ask. But she started spacing out with her eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"Somehow..." She admitted, her forehead still knitted as she continued to concentrate hard. "I can't really picture her standing around looking like an emergency exit sign or jumping like a deer crossing sign."

"That's all, Kyoko-chan?" Yashiro-san glanced at Ren weirdly. "There's something a lot worse that I can't imagine. Whenever I try, it always comes out mosaic-ed."

* * *

"He looks very happy and healthy," Julie dreamily gushed as she stared out the window. "He also grew so tall. And he's so handsome. He's all grown up!" She raised her hands to her cheeks and excitedly said, "Kyah~! I think my lifespan has just been extended by six months."

"Just six months?" Kuu let out a nervous laugh. She should really stop joking about her health like that. "But didn't I tell you that he was doing fine? You even saw him in the video." Kuu slid across the seat to be closer to his wife.

It was never their intention to see their son again at this time. He and Julie promised to wait until he can come to see them again at home. After she came back from her work just before this lunch, they just hid out in their room to avoid bumping into each other. They were never going to do anything to reduce the power of their son. But Kuu knew that Julie felt ecstatic that they were able to see him. Well, he had to admit, so was he.

"Well, I had to see it for myself," Julie huffed. "There are things that only a mother would notice."

"Really?" he asked as he slid his arm around her shoulders. "Like what?"

"He really likes Kyoko-chan a lot."

That was an odd, off-hand remark so all Kuu could do was smile. "Of course he does. He's a smart boy. He would have been able to recognize a gem like Kyoko-chan a mile away. He wouldn't have taken her under his wing as his kouhai and care so much about her development like the Boss said if he didn't see her enormous talent and potential."

"I'm just wondering..." Julie shrugged. "If that girl might become a reason for him not to go back home."

Kuu smiled and soothed her worries away. "That will never happen. He'll never lose track of that goal. And when he does come home, I'm sure she won't be too far behind. That girl has incredible acting ability and is a hard worker like him. And she's only been acting for a little over a year. I wouldn't even be surprised if the two of them come to Hollywood together."

"What I mean is..." Julie exasperatedly said. "Kyoko-chan is very cute and very sweet. Although she can be quite weird." She paused and turned to him meaningfully. "But then again, I like weird."

Kuu just stared at her blankly. "What does that have to do with it?"

"...Kuu," Julie finally spoke after a pregnant pause.

"Yes, honey?"

"You're an idiot."

Kuu recoiled and winced at his wife's harsh words as though she just sharply slashed his side. The metaphorical wound still hurt.

"Outside acting," she frowned at him. "You really don't think anything about that girl other than that, do you?"

"What are you talking about?" Kuu cried out defensively. "Didn't I say that she's like a daughter to me?"

"Well," Julie crossed her arms. "At least you're not an idiot there." Then she smiled. "When they come over, I'll cook up a nice, BIG feast for them."

Kuu laughed nervously. He loves Julie. He really does, but... "Let's leave the cooking to Kyoko-chan, OK?" He really missed her cooking.

"And just who would she trust with the babies? Daddy and Grandpa???"

"Why?" Kuu's eyes widened. "Did Kyoko-chan say anything today about falling in love with some boy? Did she hint at it?" A wave of protective fatherly instinct overcame him. "She loves acting too much to think about those kinds of things right now. True, I really do think that she will make a good mother someday. But she's only seventeen! She has to really want it first. And things like that are the last thing she wants right now - she told me herself. Her acting skills are rare but they still need to be honed and polished. After she's developed herself as an actress, then, and only then can she can start thinking about that."

"Kuu..."

"Honey?" He was distressed about the thought of Kyoko-chan's wasted talent if she threw it all away for some boy.

"You're a damn crazy feminist."

* * *

Kyoko and Tsuruga-san stepped inside the elevator to head back to their rooms. Kyoko pressed for their floors - 17th for her and 19th for him. Yashiro-san whined for a while about not being able to have dinner with Kuu Hizuri and his wife. But since there wasn't anything he could do about it, he decided to explore the city while Ren and Kyoko rest for their long night of shooting later.

"Aren't you glad that you got to meet them, Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko asked as the elevator took them up. "I mean, you got to meet him before in Sunrise TV. But you seem to like Julie-san a lot too."

He smiled down at her. "I like her very much."

"And she's very beautiful, isn't she?" The beautiful queen who was Kuon's mother. She was just as beautiful and regal as her imagination had thought.

Tsuruga-san let out a really soft smile. "Yeah... she's still very beautiful."

Kyoko smiled happily. She was glad that her dragging Tsuruga-san along for dinner wasn't a selfish attempt on her part to spend time with otou-san. He didn't look too overjoyed about tagging along with otou-san and Julie-san for dinner (must be because it's a buffet), but he went along anyway. She was the one who wanted to spend time with otou-san so she took advantage of the situation when they said something about having dinner at the hotel buffet. But he seemed incredibly happy during and after dinner.

But now, her mind was starting to turn back to the initial problem that she didn't get to ask him earlier. It was actually too embarrassing a question so she chickened out before and just asked him to dinner for Wednesday instead. But the time was growing closer and closer; she might as well ask him about it already.

"Mogami-san?"

"Yes?"

Before Kyoko could react, Tsuruga-san bent down, cupped her chin and tilted her face up. She blinked up at him curiously and started to ask something, but suddenly his warm lips were covering hers and there was nothing she could think of at all. Before she could realize what had happened, he pulled away. He smiled into her bewildered, wide eyes. "Thank you. I had a really wonderful time at dinner."

* * *

**  
Chapter Notes:  
**  
- Yeah... *wrinkles nose* I have to make them kiss. Well, I don't really see anything so strange about Ren kissing Kyoko when he's sublimely happy. Anyway, I still need them to if I'm going to make the next two chapters work, so there. I won't say anything more... ^^

- Julie's personality and her job are obviously made up. Well, I had a one-person debate (Yes, I also talk to myself late at night to someone who is not there in my room) about what Julie's job is. It was mentioned in Wikipedia Japan that Juliella is an actress (---and yeah, sure, trust Wikipedia *roll eyes* even if it is in Japanese). If Julie has a profile floating out there that is not in Nakamura-sensei's head, please let me know. I relied so much on the one chapter she was in an based on Ren and Kuu's descriptions. But the popular belief is that she is a model – because Ren mentioned something about a model who is known to be the most beautiful in the world. Now, unless Ren was fanboying a model (which I doubt), my money is on her. As for her personality, I TRIED to put in as much of Ren's personality in her - that ones that are not in Kuu. Well, the operative word is "tried". I think I failed there.

- There was debate (with many people this time) about Kuu's knowledge of Ren's feelings for Kyoko. Well, I just wrote it as that he knows that Kuu would know that Kuon cares a lot about her - because of what the Boss said. But he wouldn't know the full extent of Ren's feelings for her since he couldn't figure out why Kyoko's acting of Kuon was perfect and why their feelings are synchronized. While he might think that, after seeing Kyoko's acting ability, his interest in her has turned into acting. But of course, he sees her as a daughter.

- Well... that was generally why I chose a foreign location for the shoot. So Kyoko can ask Kuu the question about her problem. I just needed a country with a Fashion Week and randomly chose Hong Kong. Well, Tokyo has one but Kuu generally doesn't want to step on Japanese soil because "God's pranks" might come after his family, which would mean a decrease in power for his son. And FYI, Hong Kong Fashion Week is scheduled for January 2010.

- The Uncommonly Used References: The Curtain of the Night (Chapter 118), Kyoko's exit & deer crossing sign (Chapter 127), Yashiro's mosaiced image (Chapter 129), Damn Crazy Feminist (Chapter 109)

- Next Chapter: How deep Ren dug his own grave. Enough of this family-schmamily crap. We'll be moving back to the movie next week. That should be out later this week.

- Thanks to everyone who's been leaving reviews. I really appreciate it... though last chapter's were mostly gushes about Kuu and Julie coming in... Well, I am curious to know what you think of characterization of Ren's parents. Anyway, I really appreciate everyone's reviews... I hope you'll spare me some for this chapter.


	19. Chapter 19: Kyoko's Best Friend

**Chapter Nineteen **

**Acknowledgments: **Runadaemon for the beta-reading.

If you've gone this far into this fanfic, you should know what the applied disclaimers are.

* * *

Ogata Hiroaki fidgeted and paced around the studio set of his movie. Nervously, he thanked the well-wishers as they passed. Though he wished that Tsuruga-kun, Kyoko-chan and Oohara-san were in the studio next door, where they have been filming Kismet lately to have someone to share his joy with. But they're in Hong Kong at the moment for their movie shoot.

Dark Moon just received a grand slam nomination for the upcoming Television Drama Awards (details of what this is are in the Chapter Notes).  
It was something that was actually expected by a lot of people ever since Dark Moon broke Tsukigomori's record of viewership ratings. But now that it actually happened, he felt enormous pressure building up.

"Director..." one of the crew members cautiously approached him. "Are you OK?"

"Nnn..." the director crouched on the floor. Usually, being nominated along should be considered a great honor. But everyone is now expecting Dark Moon to win everything. And the awarding won't come until a month from now. Hiroaki wished he could box himself up and send himself to a deserted island.

"Director!" the crew member exclaimed in panic.

"I'm OK..." Hiroaki assured him. "I think..." he swallowed. "I just need some water."

"I'll get it right away!" The panicked crewman ran off.

His phone rang, as it had been doing relentlessly since the nominations were announced an hour earlier. His voice mailbox was already full. The cast and crew have been suffocating him with congratulatory wishes. Hiroaki was panicking inside.

But the ringing became insistent so he picked up the call. "Hello?"

"Hiroaki, congratulations on Dark Moon," a familiar voice came through the other line.

"Father," Hiroaki said in disbelief.

Director Date Hirotaka is a famous director in the international scene and Hiroaki's father. As a child, he had always aspired to be just like him, but spent his adult life trying to get out of his shadow. He surpassed that when Dark Moon broke Tsukigomori's record. To be acknowledged a second time by his father... Hiroaki felt his cheeks warm up.

When his father finished giving his praise for him, Hiroaki turned to another concern that's been on his mind. "Um... Remember what I talked to you about before...?"

"Yes," his father answered. "I considered what you said..."

* * *

What the hell was that?

Kyoko fell on her bed, face down. Her entire body was stiff; her face frozen and her lips tingling.

Tsuruga-san just kissed her. Out of the blue and for no reason at all.

Well... he did say that it was a thank you for the wonderful time he had at dinner, but that was hardly anything that warranted that kind of thank you. Sure, even on his level, spending time with Kuu Hizuri was a great honor and being close to the model he's probably been a fan of since God-knows-when would be considered a treat. But meeting them was the result of a coincidence! None of it was her doing. If he was compelled to thank her, a simple 'Thank you' would have done.

Just because they were in a foreign country, he was probably feeling a little daring because he wasn't as recognizable.

How disappointing. Kyoko sat up and crossed her arms over her chest. It seemed that Tsuruga-san was not all that immune to the very thing he warned her about: getting carried away on location shoots just because it feels like a vacation. After all, he almost did the same thing before, in the trailer in Karuizawa for Dark Moon when he was feeling sick.

Then again, it should be normal, right? After all, he is a normal, fully-functioning 21-year old man who is incredibly good-looking, and forever has women falling all over him.

But then again, there's also that girl he's supposed to be in love with.

That's the most disturbing thing. Unlike some other people she's known (Shotaro), she never saw Tsuruga-san as the type of guy that would flit from girl to girl. If he was feeling frustrated about it, he should just start dating her. Whatever it is that's been holding him back about his situation, if a mere kouhai like herself could accept him despite his true nature, the girl he loves would be able to give him more acceptance.

If she just had the nerve - or at least the guise of Bo, she'd tell him outright. That would be the right thing for him to do. She nodded with resolve. Not randomly victimizing co-stars by turning into the Emperor of the Night.

Wait a minute! Kyoko thought as she stopped in her tracks.

At that time, in the elevator, Tsuruga-san didn't turn into the Emperor of the Night.

During the acting exercise for Dark Moon and also in the trailer in Karuizawa, she had felt as though she were a rabbit about to be pounced on by the Emperor of the Night. That was the real Tsuruga-san! The Tsuruga-san that kissed her earlier made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Exactly how she felt whenever she played Chiaki being in love with Satoshi.

Of course! She banged her fist against her palm. It was an acting exercise!

Her thoughts were interrupted when Oohara-san stepped inside. "Kyoko-chan!" she exclaimed in surprise. "You're here! Since you didn't show up at the pool, we all thought that you and Tsuruga-san just decided to go eat out."

"Nah!" she happily answered, relieved beyond words as she stood up. It's always good to rationalize and apply logical thinking to things like these. Otherwise, she would have started thinking crazy things. Now she actually felt a bit guilty for thinking poorly of Tsuruga-san. Kyoko is a moron. "Can you believe it?" she continued as Oohara-san put her things away. "That Hollywood actor that was staying in this hotel was actually Kuu Hizuri! Tsuruga-san and I actually ended up having dinner with him and his wife."

It's pretty obvious now that he did that as an acting exercise. Tsuruga-san already knew that this movie was going to be her first kissing experience and he probably sensed that she was too embarrassed to ask him earlier about it. After all, they were shooting the kiss scene later. And with Chiaki being the one to initiate the kiss with Satoshi...

"Really?" Oohara-san pouted. "You didn't tell us! We could have joined you. But how exciting for you and Tsuruga-san."

Oh.

Suddenly, Kyoko's knees buckled under the pressure. She ended up crouching on the floor with her fingers digging through her scalp.

In horror, Oohara-san turned to her. "What's wrong Kyoko-chan?"

This is terrible! If Tsuruga-san was acting like Satoshi and what they did was an acting exercise...

"Kyoko-chan?" Oohara-san knelt in front of her and asked, "Are you OK? Do you want to lie down? Should I call for the staff doctor?"

"Oohara-san?"

"What is it?" her roommate asked in concern. "Is there anything you need?"

Her forehead wrinkled as she looked at her roommate and said, "I don't know how to kiss someone..."

* * *

Well... Ren thought sardonically as he slouched on a chair in his suite. At least he wasn't being despised.

Learning through experience, he should never expect anything when dealing with Mogami-san. If anything else, the unexpected should be expected.

Although, staring at him like a deer caught in his headlights before staggering out of the elevator while mumbling something about 'The Kiss of Death', 'demons', and how 'Everyone is going to die' was beyond the unexpected. By any standards.

He let out a sigh. He had to have fumbled things. Knowing her, she will end up running away at the very sight of him. This was probably one of the reason why he repressed happiness when he felt it. But... it was just too much at one time. Being saved from being fired... Receiving a present, even if it was a stupid one caused by his own stupidity... Being asked out to dinner... Spending time with his parents... Everything was because of her. Even all the skills he had at keeping his emotions in check had limits.

Damn it... Now he had to face her in a few hours' time. Worse, they were shooting the kiss scene tonight. Just to put her at ease, it looked like he was going to have to pass his feelings off as a joke. Or worse, something even more pathetic like making it look like an unsolicited acting exercise.  
Ren stood up to answer the relentless, urgent knocking on the door.

"Ren!" Yashiro-san burst through the door as soon as the lock clicked. "It finally happened! What we've all been hoping for has finally happened! I'm so happy for you and Kyoko-chan!"

Ren got a sinking feeling on his stomach. Did Yashiro-san bump into Mogami-san? Judging from ecstatic expression, did the unlikely prospect that Mogami-san was happy about it... happen?

"What on earth is with that look, Ren?" Yashiro-san stared at him. "I haven't even told you about it yet."

"About what?"

"Hmph!" Yashiro-san scoffed. "Now I'm wondering if you really want to know. Do you?"

The sly look on his manager's face let Ren know that he wanted to play around with him until he was begging like a little boy to be given the answer. However, he should know by now that it never works and with the mood he was in, he really didn't want to. He just sighed and said in an exasperated tone, "If you don't want to say it, just say so."

Yashiro-san looked taken aback. "What the-? What's with that face? You get to hang out with Kyoko-chan and Kuu Hizuri. You should be ecstatic. And with the news that I just got from Matsushima-san, you should elated." Then he narrowed his eyes and glared at him. "Ren... what happened in the hour and a half that I left you alone? Did you eat too much? Were you trying to catch up with Kuu? Are you getting indigestion? Did Kyoko-chan shoot you down?"

Yashiro-san let out an audible gulp when for a split second, Ren's mood ominously dropped and his face fell before he covered it up with his usual cool facade. He may have just stepped on another landmine.  
Did this love failure do something that caused something weird between him and Kyoko-chan?  
"Ren..." he started cautiously. It looked like he's not going to be able to tease Ren this time. He might as well tell him the good news. But, he has to find out what about Kyoko-chan made him depressed. It was not going to be good for business for Ren to be in a bad mood and after all this time, he really wanted the two of them to be together. Especially with all the emotional investment he made just fanboying the two.

"Mo! This better be important! I just rudely excused myself from lunch the owner of the country manor we're staying in is throwing for us."  
Despite her dilemma, Kyoko suddenly envisioned her beautiful friend in an authentic European castle filled with fairies, seven-colored flowers and all kinds of magical creatures.

"Oi..." the steely voice from the other line slurred. "Don't tell me you just called in to say hi. You're just lucky you caught me on my lunch break. It's still nine PM in my head. I'm still jet-lagged. You're also supposed to be working. And this is a very expensive international call. Didn't I already promise you something nice? Can't this wait until we both get back home?"

"No it cant!" Kyoko cried out as she sat down at the edge of the bathtub inside the bathroom of the room that she and Oohara-san shared. "I'm really sorry to interrupt you, but I have a problem with work!"

"Well," Moko-san said. "Let's hear it."

"Um..." Kyoko started fidgeting and hesitantly said. "I... um, I just realized that I don't know how to kiss someone and we're doing the scene later on tonight."

There was silence on the other line.

"Mo... ko... -san?"

When she finally spoke, she asked, "Are you telling me that you've been running around all confident and stuff and you haven't prepared yourself for this?"

"Of course I prepared for it," Kyoko exclaimed defensively. "Mentally," she lamely finished.

"Mentally?" Moko-san screamed from the other line.

"Anyway," Kyoko said, bravely continuing as her shoulders started to shake in annoyance. She thought that mental preparation was all she'd need. "I just realized that the stupid script says that my character has to be the one to initiate it."

"Yes. I know that. You told me that before when we were talking about it before," Moko-san answered in a deadpan tone. "Just kiss the guy!" she cried out. "It's just s stupid screen kiss! I can't believe I'm having a conversation with you about how you're supposed to kiss Tsuruga Ren. It pisses me off. Anyway, a kiss is just a kiss, right?"

"Kissing him for the sake of kissing him would have been fine," Kyoko argued. "But are you forgetting that I'm dealing with a scary actor who might not react like he should if I don't act it out correctly?" Not that she had anything to compare it to, but she thought that Tsuruga-san was a pretty good kisser. It was warm and felt ni-... A jolt ran through Kyoko's spine, bringing her back to her senses. She's been spacing out every time she started thinking about it, which could only mean that her brain was ceasing to function. Right now, it's fizzled. Her demons were anticipating their doom for tonight's scene through a special Tsuruga Ren exorcism. "Anyway," she continued. "Everything's going great now! If I screw things up, we might go back to how things were before. You saw how bad it was!"

"Ooooh... That time?" Moko-san sarcastically answered. "I remember..." Then haughtily she declared. "Well, if that's the only thing you're worried about, then just do it the way you think it should be done. Believe me, he'll react."

Kyoko couldn't understand what she was saying. "Why?"she asked.

* * *

Why? Kanae thought incredulously. Because no matter what this moron did before, all the blunders and mistakes were done by Tsuruga-san. Not her. She might be in the Love Me Section, but she's a pro and a superb actress. Great enough that she was actually able to produce a totally in love character.

"Mo!" she cried out in frustration. "If you don't believe me, ask Tsuruga-san yourself! Practice on him or something!"

Kanae was annoyed. Not only was Kyoko not believing her, but it seemed that this simpleton bought whatever reason that guy gave her. He could have just told her the truth: that he sucked. But no... he's making her best friend believe something else. And what's more, his wisdom weighed far greater than her own.

"Practice?" Kyoko exclaimed in disbelief. "On him? Moko-san, doesn't that seem... tacky? Since it's not the scene or the characterization I'm having problems with? Just the kissing? I mean... What would you think if a kouhai of yours actually came out and said 'I need to learn how to kiss! Will you teach me?'"

Ahhh... "You're right," Kanae answered. Even doing anything for the role has its limits. "He might even think that you're trying to get into his pants." She sighed. "Well... I can't help you either way. It's not like I know about things like that." Then her temper flared. "Mo! Why did you even call me? Now I'm going to get worried!" She was rapidly becoming annoyed. She hated not being able to help her best friend who rarely turns to her for help. "Ask Tsuruga-san for advice! You always keep telling me how invaluable his advice is. You don't need to practice on him - God no! Just ask him how it should go or something." She's annoyed. That was the best advice that she could give her.

"I couldn't even get myself to ask him earlier and I already had plenty of opportunity!" Kyoko answered, obviously flustered. "I was too embarrassed!"

"Then why ask me?"

"Because," Kyoko stammered. "Really embarrassing things like this can only be told to a best friend, right?"

Best friend?

"I mean... if I can't tell these kinds of things to my number one friend, who can I tell them to?"

Number one friend?

That means... Kanae grinned wickedly. Whatever that jerk has done to take her place as Kyoko's number one friend, he still failed. Even after Kyoko nearly blew her top when she found out that she made Tsuruga-san skip lunch. An air of superiority filled Kanae. She was so elated, she had to put her hand over her mouth to suppress her cackle of glee.

"Oi, Kanae!" a voice called from behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know that it was Hiou-kun. "You're holding up lunch so come back inside already!"

"OK!" she called back. She turned her attention back to the phone. "Look, I have to go. Just... do whatever comes natural, OK? Believe it or not, you're also the scary type. Once you get into it, you'll know what to do when you get there, OK?" When Kyoko didn't say anything, she harshly repeated, "OK?"

"O-OK," Kyoko answered back uneasily.

"Kanae!" Hiou-kun called impatiently.

"I'll see you when we get back," Kanae said. "Bye." She hung up the phone, turned around and practically skipped to Hiou-kun. "Sorry for taking so long..."

"I hope it's not that jerk you made the mistake of paying too much attention to last Valentine's Day," Hio-kun frowned as they walked back to the dining hall.

"Nope!" Kanae answered happily. "That was my best friend." She defeated Tsuruga-san. She defeated Tsuruga-san, she chanted in her head. The thought filled her with a perverse sense of joy.

"You mean that weirdo in the chicken suit?"

"Huh?"

"She's your best friend, right?" he turned to her. "You share everything down to your creepy pink uniform."

Kanae grinned. Even he realized and recognized it. "Yeah," she said with a soft smile. "She is a weirdo."

* * *

Kyoko sat on the edge of the bathtub and let her head hang low.

Well... at least she had that out of her system. She felt much better. Taking the whip from Moko-san really did a world of good. Oohara-san was a good friend too, but she's too gentle-natured.

But it still didn't help solve her problem.

So... Moko-san said that she just should act it out the way she thinks Chiaki should. Tsuruga-san said the same thing too after he almost got fired. Well, that part she didn't have any problems with. But no matter how much she immersed herself in the role, if she didn't know how to kiss, she didn't know how to kiss.

The truth was, even if she did get to ask Tsuruga-san about it earlier that afternoon, she didn't know how to say it. And when Moko-san said that they should practice, it was so embarrassing and horrific a thought that it was almost laughable. Actually, she wasn't sure what kind of "guidance" or advice she intended on soliciting from Tsuruga-san if she found the oppotunity to ask about it. But for some reason, she was glad that she never got around to asking for it.

She didn't have time to ponder over it more because her phone rang. Startled, she answered almost immediately, not bothering with checking the caller ID.

"At last..." Sawara-san's familiar, unenthusiastic drone came through the other line. "I've been trying to get through to you for the last thirty minutes, but I keep getting your voicemail."

"I'm sorry!" she apologized. "I was talking to someone!"

"Aww... And I was hoping that I was going to be the one to tell you the news."

Confused, Kyoko asked, "News? What news?"

"You've probably heard the first one already," Sawara-san continued. "I'm annoyed. I wanted to be the one to tell you first. So I'll start with the second one. I hope you're sitting down..."

* * *

"Ah! There she is!" Yashiro-san exclaimed. "Kyoko-chan~!" he called.

Ren braced himself and was visibly startled when Mogami-san practically skipped towards them, a cheerful smile wreathing her face.

"Good evening, Tsuruga-san, Yashiro-san!" she greeted and bowed as soon as she was close enought to them. Then she turned to him and smiled happily. "Congratulations on being nominated, Tsuruga-san! I wish you all the best."

Ren was taken aback with her enthusiasm. One thing was certain: he wasn't despised. Though he couldn't quite decide if he should be relieved or annoyed that what happened earlier was so casually brushed off.

No! he firmly told himself. This was Mogami Kyoko. He should be relieved she got over 'the kiss of death' that quickly.  
"And congratulations on your nomination too, Mogami-san," he replied with a genuine smile. Well, he was happy for her about that. "Good luck to you too."

No, he realized. He was Tsuruga Ren. He was annoyed that she was treating the kiss as though it were nothing.

"Ahehehe..." she laughed humorlessly. "Right..." she muttered. "With the kind of luck I have." Then she just smiled up at him and added, "I guess for a newbie like me, just getting nominated is an honor in itself."

"You look very cheerful, Kyoko-chan," Yashiro said observantly. "I guess you were able to get enough sleep?"

"Actually not at all," she answered with the same kind of cheerfulness. "I only got an hour's worth of sleep. Oohara-san and I got too excited - she got nominated for another one of her dramas."

"Kyoko-chan!" Director Shingai called and motioned for her to come to him.

"Excuse me," Mogami-san bowed. "Let's work hard tonight!" Then she turned around and walked towards the director.

"Well..." Yashiro-san commented. "Apart from the obvious elation despite the humility, since there's no particular change in her, you're just overthinking it. Whatever it was that happened that caused you to sacrifice your mobile phone again, it looks like you've been doing nothing but mull over small and trivial setbacks. In fact, wouldn't it be a good thing? She looks cheerful tonight, especially considering that the two of you are doing the kiss scene."

He wouldn't call what happened small and trivial. At least she was as normal as she could be. It just annoyed him - the fact that she seemed so unaffected. Then again, being unaffected by 'The Kiss of Death' is supposed to be a good thing.

"Yashiro-san," Ren said without turning to him as he attempted to change the subject. "You do realize that we're in a foreign country, right? You broke my phone and you broke yours answering that second call from Matsushima-san. Whatever that was, it seemed important."

"Don't worry!" Yashiro-san cheerfully answered as he waved his hand. "I already called Matsushima-san. It's just for an late afternoon-early evening meeting for Wednesday. You're sure to be free by nine."

It distracted Ren how Yashiro-san seemed to know that he needed to be free by nine. The sources of the happiness he had felt today seemed to be unfolding. Now, it looked like Mogami-san was somehow coerced into spending the evening with him again. If somehow, the appearance of his parents had been the result of hallucinations, he would start pulling his hair until the blond roots come out.

"Umm... Ren?"

"What?"

"I don't mean to be rude since it is a serious medical problem and all..." Yashiro-san said uncomfortably. "But do you really have to bring that pillow around? Won't that put a dapper on your image?"

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- The Television Drama Awards (T.D.A.) is a fictional award-giving body in Japan for... duh, TV dramas. It s actually based on an actual awards. Kinda like the Emmy's. But the main difference is that the T.D.A. hold their awarding ceremony for every season. So basically, all the shows for spring are competitors of each other. For shows like Dark Moon, which runs for more than one season long (10-13 episodes) - the popular theory is that it's 26 episodes long according to the ratings chart Dark Moon keeps as seen on Chapter 100 (EDIT: though one of my reviewers and forum friends, Deddinty said sensei mentioned that it's only 19 episodes, but would have still ended some time April or early May since they ended shooting sometime March), they will be considered for the season the show ended. Anyway, I wanted to add it, but since the concept of awards do not exist yet in Skip beat universe, I just used something based on a the real one. Main categories include: Best Drama, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Scriptwriter, Best Director, and Best Theme Song.

- Did this chapter come right out of no where? Well, I suddenly decided on the kind of ending that I want and I might as well set the foundation here. Besides, as you might have already noticed, I downplay everything. XD Yes, the dreaded kiss scene will come on the next chapter. But I don't think anyone is looking forward to it anymore since Ren already kissed Kyoko in the previous chapter.

- As always, reviews are not expected but extremely appreciated.


	20. Chapter 20: Ren's Big Slip

**Chapter Twenty**

**Acknowledgments: **Runadaemon for beta-reading and Ecki for some technicalities.

**Dedications: **Mmm... for the girls (at least I think all of us are girls) in the forum (if you don't know what I'm talking about, it's most not likely you) - your scattered pieces of help have proved invaluable to writing this story. I'd enumerate, but I don't know who among you guys actually read this fic. XD

**Disclaimers apply. Too lazy to type all of it.**

**

* * *

**

Kyoko sneaked a glance at Tsuruga-san as she cautiously approached and said. "Umm... Tsuruga-san?"

He turned to her and asked, "What is it?

"Um..." She fidgeted. "About the upcoming scene... I'm... actually feeling kinda... uncomfortable and... not very... confident about it..."

Tsuruga-san just stared at her blankly then Kyoko shuddered as she saw the change in him as the Demon Lord awakened. "Not comfortable or confident about it?" he said in a dark, ominous voice. "You mean to tell me that you wasted your free time planning dinner parties and dining with Hollywood royalty when you haven't figured out what you're going to do about it???"

"I'm sorry!" Kyoko cried out flustered. "I've been meaning to ask you, but I keep getting sidetracked!"

"Sidetracked???" Kyoko winced and howled in pain as Tsuruga-san's dark aura shoved her hard and she fell to the floor. "Idiot!" he cried out. "The reason why it's called a kiss scene is because the kiss is the main focus of the scene. If you can't get yourself to focus on it, what's the point of the scene? This is why I don't like working with anyone other than first-rate actresses!"

That, Kyoko thought as she sat on the chair while her make-up was being retouched, was the kind of disaster she would invite if she actually said such a thing now.

If she learned anything from today, it'd have to be priority-setting. She's going to be 18 in a few months. She really needs to know where her priorities should be: kissing.

Well, for today anyway.

But after receiving the news from Sawara-san, her imagination flew away again. She wished she could have told otou-san about it when they met. He would have been so proud of her - factoring in the oya-baka filter. Well, if he could he happy about that thing Tsuruga-san told him about which generally came off a gossip column, he would have been much prouder of this kind of accomplishment.

As soon as they got to the location, a popular shopping district that was decked out with a lot of life and extras to make the location look like a lively Saturday night, they'd been shooting scene after scene non-stop, switching from inside a restaurant to the street, alternating while each set was being prepped. And since all the scenes required her, she couldn't catch a break. Now, she had completely lost her chance and would have no choice but to suck it up. It's just a stupid kiss. All she has to do is to get fully into character and let things happen the way the character thinks it should go. That's basically the only option she has left.

"All done, Kyoko-chan!" the make-up artist cheerfully announced.

Kyoko thanked her and stood up. As she made her way to her position, she snuck a glance at Tsuruga-san who was having the wrinkles of his shirtsleeves smoothened because of the folds on the cuffs. He seemed relaxed and calm. But that's only because Tsuruga-san has probably already done kiss scenes a million times over before. It would be strange after all, if he hadn't. She doubted that the kiss scene between Katsuki and Mizuki would be the first. This is a guy who has built an image with perfect romantic hero-type guys before he started going for darker roles like Katsuki.

The truth was, Tsuruga-san wasn't perfect. Apart from being very complicated, a terrible perfectionist, and weirdly moody, he's pretty much just like her: a romantic failure. If he wasn't, he would be with that girl he was in love with already. Kyoko let out an inelegant snort. He can't even figure out simple idioms like tentekomai. She swore she could never look at that word the same way again.

"Mogami-san?" Tsuruga-san looked at her in wonder.

Crap. She didn't realize that he had already moved into position. But that still didn't negate the fact that he can probably do a kiss scene with his eyes closed.

"Ah!" she exclaimed and concentrated hard to get into character.

"Are we ready?" Director Shingai asked.

"Yes," she and Tsuruga-san answered in unison. This was the most prepared she could be.

* * *

Chiaki stumbled forward as Satoshi finally let her arm free from the tight grip he'd taken on her after he hauled her out of the restaurant.

"What are you doing here, Satoshi-kun?" she stammered out.

"Yumemi called me," Satoshi icily answered and Chiaki's face paled. "I thought you were supposed to be on a business trip. Now I'm finding out you're actually considering that guy's proposition on combining your businesses together through marriage."

"That's right!" Chiaki exclaimed. "It's quite an unexpected development, but I am considering it. Did you come all this way just to ask me that?"

"Yes!" Satoshi answered back. "Because I want to how marrying that guy would be any different from marrying me?"

"It's different!" Chiaki declared proudly.

"How is it different?" Satoshi asked sarcastically. "If you marry him, you're marrying him because of his money. If you marry me, you're marrying me because of my money. Don't tell me that you met him and fell in love with him at first sight because I won't believe y-"

"It's just different!" She cut him off with the haughtiness of a proud young heiress, but inside, she felt like she wanted to cry.

The tense, angry atmosphere between the two slowly dissolved to sadness.

Without warning, Chiaki stepped forward, raised her hands and placed his face between them to pull him down as she reached on tiptoe to meet him halfway for a kiss. This was the first time the two of them had ever kissed and Chiaki felt the overwhelming urge to show him how she really felt. She brushed her lips against his and started to coax him to make known all the longing she felt.

And suddenly, Satoshi wrapped his arms around her waist and started kissing her back.

* * *

"C-CUT!"

Kyoko almost immediately let go of Tsuruga-san's face and tried to step back, but found that Tsuruga-san's arms were tightly around her waist. She wiggled enough to make him realize that his arms were still around her and let go. Afterwhich, she took a polite step back and looked expectantly at the director.

"Again," Director Shingai ordered.

"Again???" Kyoko exclaimed, unable to believe what she just heard: a call for a cut before the scene was completed.

"Yes, Kyoko-chan," Director Shingai announced matter-of-factly. "Again. And you and Tsuruga-kun will do it again and again until I say it's done correctly."

"What exactly was wrong with it that it has to be redone?" Kyoko cried out in panic. It was too embarrassing to admit that she really doesn't know what she's doing because this is the first time she's ever kissed anyone. Not just as an actor, but as a girl of seventeen. Vehemently, she turned to her co-star. "Tsuruga-san," she nearly shouted in her panic. "Is there anything wrong with the way I kissed you? Am I that bad a kisser???"

"Eh...?" Tsuruga-san's eyes widened in surprise. "Erm..." he stammered. "Ummm..." Well, it was actually quite a weird question, but this was work. These kinds of things have to be done properly, right? But she already knew she'd done something wrong because Tsuruga-san never stammered. He raised his hand to his mouth and struggled with a "N-n-no."

"Director!" Kyoko was nearly shaking when she turned to him in protest.

"It's not that there was anything wrong with it, Kyoko-chan," Director Shingai said. His mouth quivered.

"Then what?" Kyoko asked. "If you say there isn't anything wrong with it..."

"What I mean to say is..." the director said as he stood up and walked towards her. "We are filming an R-12 rated movie."

"That's right," Kyoko nodded. "What does that have to do with this?"

"Kyoko-chan," Director Shingai looked amused and explained gently, "If you kiss Tsuruga-san like that and we go with it, we'll end up getting an R-15 rating and we'll never get the target audience for the movie. If we go with that, we might as well have made the script and the entire thing a bit more mature. Basically, since we couldn't go so far with the actual kiss, we just wanted to make the atmosphere more than suited for the mood of the scene."

"Oh," Kyoko answered. That made a lot of sense. She smiled. "Then why didn't you just say so?" she answered cheerfully.

Out of nowhere, the timer and the assistant director, both let out a sputter of laughter, but quickly caught themselves doing it, exchanging glances. Then suddenly, they let out a burst of laughter, unable to hold it in. Then scattered giggles and guffaws filled the surrounding area. Kyoko looked around and saw the several people who were not laughing were avoiding her eyes, their faces red. Oohara-san looked like she was melting, her eyes twinkling and her cheeks pink. And even Yashiro-san was fidgeting with his glasses as he tried to look elsewhere.

Kyoko suddenly felt like everyone was making fun of her.

"And actually..." Director Shingai said with a strangled laugh as he bent down whispering, "The NG was for Tsuruga-kun."

"Huh?" She looked up at him wonderingly. Why? Tsuruga-san undeniably had far more experience in kissing than she did. It didn't make sense. So with a totally odd tone she asked, "Why?"

Director Shingai just stared at her oddly, his eyes wide. Then he patted her shoulder and patronizingly said, "Just one more time from the top, OK?"

* * *

Mogami-san was seated on a chair in the corner of the outdoor set with a sneer on her face.

The second take they had, they had another NG because of a disruption down the road from where they were shooting just as Mogami-san pulled away from the kiss right before delivering the line to tell Satoshi good-bye when she couldn't get him to kiss her back and learn his feelings.

The third take was finally perfect. And after that, she just drifted to her chair with an unpleasant look on her face while the crew set up the next scene. She hadn't moved from that spot ever since.

Oddly enough, Ren was amused with her reaction to her on-screen kiss.

"Kyoko-chan's really weird, isn't she?" Yashiro-san commented as he handed Ren his water. "Most girls you have a kiss scene with usually fall over you as though you just officially became a couple just because you had a screen kiss." He continued to tease him as he said, "Wouldn't you wish for that?"

He gave his manager a dry look and asked, "The whole time you've known her, what reaction would have surprised you more? What you just colorfully described or what you're seeing now?" To be honest, he would just be disappointed if she reacted that way. The last thing he wanted to happen was to have Mogami-san get carried away with the character and think herself in love with him just because of that.

Yashiro-san let out an uneasy laugh. "You have a point there." Then he grinned. "Isn't it amazing that she looks like she's picking a fight when she's nervous and agitated?"

Director Shingai was walking by then when his head turned to where Kyoko-chan was seated, stopped, pointed at Mogami-san and asked. "Will she be-?"

"Yes," Ren and Yashiro-san answered, cutting him off before he could complete the question of if Mogami-san would be OK.

"Is she always like-?"

"Yes," they answered again. Then Yashiro-san turned to the director and asked something Ren wouldn't even dream of asking, "Director Shingai, I'm just curious... Why didn't you call for a cut on the first take as soon as you knew that Kyoko-chan was making the kiss scene a little more... um, intense?"

Director Shingai shrugged at him and answered, "I was just the same as everyone else. I was too flustered to react. I didn't know she was going to go that far." Then he sighed. "But she did, and I just thought we could edit it out later since Kyoko-chan looked so disturbed doing the kiss scene itself and I didn't want to have her go through another take." Then he grinned, turned to Ren and slapped him on the back. "Then you actually kissed her back just as intensely and we can't work with that without making it look choppy so I called the NG. The script said that it's just her kissing and you ruined the shot."

"Tsuruga Ren lost himself and ended up kissing his seventeen-year old co-star for real," Yashiro mused. "Instant hit."

Director Shingai declared with half-seriousness. "I'll make sure it'll be in as bonus on the DVD."

* * *

Kyoko felt so unsatisfied.

Of course, she overthought things again. Wondering about how to do the kiss when Tsuruga-san already showed her how things are supposed to be done. A warm, sweet, chaste kiss was obviously the way to go for an R-12 movie. Of course THAT kind of kiss wouldn't be able to pass for an R-12 rating. Even if what she did was correct to suit the mood and the situation, the objective would have been defeated. She sighed as she realized that she had just been too carried away by her character. Well, at least the Chiaki she thought up in her head knew how to kiss someone. She sure as hell didn't.

How frustrating. She didn't need to deal with such lousy trade-offs with Dark Moon and Box 'R'. But then again, their themes were dark and targeted older teen audiences and higher, not pre-teens like Kismet was. But she will never accomplish her goals if she can't even establish a wholesome image with mass appeal if she remains limited to dark and insidious images for a limited audience.

Still, it annoyed her that there was Tsuruga-san giving her subtle instructions to spare her the embarrassment of having to ask him and she still missed the hint. She promised herself never to misinterpret or misunderstand his actions ever again.

She sighed. If she had read it correctly, they could have been done in one take and her demons wouldn't have been so affected by the three Tsuruga Ren bombs filled with nuclear capability - UV rays. Well, getting into and immersing herself into her character has been a good defense mechanism. But repeating scene after scene wears out the effect she wanted so by the third take, shards of the evil divine light seeped through the Chiaki shield.

"Mogami-san?"

"Wut?" she looked up, knowing that there was a sneer on her face and her tone was curt. She didn't really expect Tusruga-san to be one standing in front of her.

"What?" Tsuruga-san asked drolly and looked at her dryly. "You look like you swallowed some of the 'special lunch' Maria-chan prepares to share with my co-stars whenever she visits me on-set."

"Tch..." she answered just as drolly. "I'm actually not that scared of spiders and bugs. I won't eat them though."

"What?" he asked as he sat down on the vacant chair beside her. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No," she said as she sighed heavily and waved her hand to brush it off. "It's fine. I'll be over it in a while." She had to get over her disappointment before the next scene started. Otherwise, Tsuruga-san will think that she's being a pain again. "I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

"If you knew that the scene didn't require a kiss like that..." She whipped her head as she turned to him. "...why did you end up kissing me back during the first take?"

"Eh?"

"Even though you already knew I was doing it wrong because of the genre, but right for the mood, you still continued with the scene," she pouted. It was to torture her, wasn't it? Because she didn't pick up on the hint that he casually handed to her earlier. This guy really won't stop until she learned her lesson!

Tsuruga-san just stared at her and looked like he was thinking about what to answer. Well, if it was to get back at her for being so slow to pick up on the clue, he should just say that to her. She appreciated it more. She was actually grateful to have someone like him who will never stop and grow tired of teaching her things. After all, this is the guy she considered as a mentor and senpai. "Mogami-san," he started out uneasily. "Has it ever occurred to you that an actor can get carried away with how you act?"

Carried away? Tsuruga-san?

"Huh?" she looked up at him.

He nodded.

Tsuruga-san got carried away because of her acting? While she's not playing one of her scary roles that so many people have complimented her for as her bread and butter? A wave of joy overcame her. She hoped it and thought it, but now he even went as far as acknowledging her. When they were shooting most of the scenes between Satoshi and Chiaki, the scenes were dependent and initiated by their mutual interaction. That was the reason why their scenes were good. But to have Tsuruga-san react and even get carried away on an action that was dependent and initiated by her... She reddened with joy that he would even go so far as to tell her so.

"Really?" She felt her lips stretch to a smile. "That's great!"

"What's great?"

Before she could open her mouth, the assistant director called out, "Kyoko-chan, we'll be rehearsing the scene with Chiaki and Yumemi! Are you ready?"

Cheerfully, she called back, "OK!" She stood up, dusted her dress and turned to him. "Tsuruga-san, thank you very much! You made me... really happy!" She bowed. "I'll be going now."

Kyoko turned around and started to walk toward the set where Oohara-san was waiting.

She felt just a little closer to Tsuruga-san now. If she knew that kissing him would put them on a more common ground, she would have done that months ago. Then she inwardly caught herself and giggled. No, no... she corrected herself. That's the wrong way to think about it. Tsuruga-san is a very hard person to please. Simply looking at the way she had to go through over a year and all this pain just to earn a little bit of respect from him as an actress...

Then she suddenly had a flash, going back to her conversation with otou-san just before he and Julie-san left the hotel.

"If I end up getting addicted to a role, what else can I do when it's gone other than mourn it?"

"I don't know," Otou-san shrugged. "Try to apply it to real life, I guess."

"What if it's impossible?" she urgently followed up.

"Why?" Otou-san tilted her head to study her. "Is the role an alien?"

She shook her head. "No."

"A super-powered mutant?"

"Kuu..." Julie-san frowned at her husband.

"It's a human!"

"Then it's not impossible," Julie-san smiled at her.

"But-"

"She's right," Otou-san pointed at Julie-san. "If you want to be a princess, marry a prince. If you want to be an ojou-sama, marry a bo-chan. If you want to be a boy..."

"I certainly hope not!" Julie-san exclaimed, interrupting. "You're not, right?" she asked hurriedly. "You know that we ALL love you just as you are."

"...Well, there's science for that," he finished without missing a beat, even with Julie-san's interjection. "I never said it was going to be easy. OK?" Then he ruffled her hair.

* * *

The rest of the shoot finished without incident and only a little over schedule. Most of the problems were attributed to the usual problems that comes along with shooting in an actual location, outside the controlled environment of a studio.

It was nearly six when everyone tiredly but happily boarded the bus for the short drive back to their hotel. And everyone was buzzing at the hotel lobby, mostly complaining about the irregular schedule that they had with the limited time they had in Hong Kong and the weird 1 PM assembly time they had later for their second day of shooting. So everyone was really anticipating the warmth of their hotel rooms and packed the elevators.

Tsuruga-san was the second to the last to board since, as his kouhai, there was no way Kyoko could allow herself to go ahead of him. But as soon as they stepped in, the overload buzzer sounded and Kyoko immediately stepped out. Even though he was a gentleman, she was still his kouhai and custom dictated that she let him go up ahead of her. Even if she was beyond tired.

But the buzzing persisted and being the last person to board, Tsuruga-san stepped out and just told everyone that they'll just take the next car.

Kyoko was starting to space out but quickly recovered when Tsuruga-san asked, "Tired? This is your first real overnight shoot, isn't it?'

"Yeah," she answered with a tired laugh. "Director Shingai told me that it's one of the hazards of shooting on location in such a heavily populated place - that we can only do it during odd hours. Anyway, it's not so bad. Moko-san's in Europe and is jetlagged and working regularly so it could have been a lot harder."

"That's how it goes, even at home," he smiled as they stepped inside the elevator car that opened.

"Yeah..." Then her eyes widened. "You actually brought that?"

Tsuruga-san glanced at the pillow that he held and answered sheepishly, "Well, I can't put it in my duffel bag since it'll take up so much space."

"Yeah, but..."

"But what?"

"Well, I guess it's not me to judge since I know that you need it to sleep, but won't it damage your image??? I mean, won't it make you look like a kid?" If Tsuruga-san was anything, he was definitely not like a kid. At least, his image would never condone it, even if Kyoko knew that he can be a kid sometimes. But having that as his public image was just as ridiculous as the time she thought that Tsuruga-san was quite cute because his hair was so soft and silky. In fact, it would be all her fault if that happened since she was the one who exploited the little secret that he's probably always kept hidden from other people: that he can't sleep without a pillow.

Before he could answer, the elevator opened and Kyoko glanced up and saw 19. "Crap!" She squeaked out. "I totally forgot to press my floor!" Referring to her own floor, 17.

"Eh... sorry," he apologized. "I also forgot to press your floor."

"No, it's OK." It was a long night. He was probably just as tired as she was. "An elevator is just a push of the button anyway. I'll just take the stairs two flights down. I still need to run around later at The Peak anyway so it'll be like practice."

"OK," Tsuruga-san nodded as he held the door for her.

Kyoko stepped out and turned to him, waiting for him to get off.

"Well, I'll see you in a few hours," she bid him farewell as he stepped out, his duffel bag bumping against the elevator's panel.

"I'll see you later," Tsuruga-san smiled at her and turned. Kyoko stared at his retreating back as he walked away with wide strides. When there was considerable distance between them, she smiled and turned in the direction of the stairwell.

Then at the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something falling out of his bag and she called, "Tsuruga-san!" as she ran up to the thing he dropped. As she got closer to it, it looked a lot like his passport in a leather case, lying open and facedown. "You should really keep this in the safe in your room! You'll have a hard time if you lose your passport."

"Shoot!" he exclaimed as he quickly turned around and walked towards her as she picked it up and waited for him to come up to her.

How refreshing. A once in a lifetime chance to witness. Tsuruga-san can actually be careless sometimes. Well, he's probably tired too. He's only human. Idly, she glanced down just as Tsuruga-san's hand reached for his passport and her eyes widened as she read the works, Family Name: Hizuri, Given Name: Kuon. In brackets, the name Tsuruga Ren were written. The big surprise wasn't the fact that Tsuruga Ren was an alias - he already told her that it was his stage name. But Hizuri Kuon???

And another thing that shocked her was the picture. His hand was covering that part of the passport as he pulled it out of her grasp, but it was enough for her to make out an image and recognize a very blonde, somewhat older version of her fairy prince, Corn.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

**- Passport Details Notes: **Everyone should already know that you should always use your real name in passports. If you're a lot like Ren who has a stage name or, technically, an alias, it should be placed in brackets to indicate it - that's how it works in Japan and most countries. I can't catch anyone in the States who knows. This part was not supposed to be part of the original outline, but the temptation of Kyoko being so close to something that can give her all the information she needs about Ren's true identity is too sweet to resist. OK... I didn't put in what kind of passport it is (Japanese or American) since America is a 'jus solis' and Japan is a 'jus sanguinis' type of country. Technically, because of his parentage (Kuu), he is recognized as Japanese by Japan, but everyone knows that he was raised in America (unless it's translation omission that he was also actually born there). Although, I'm also not dismissing the idea that Ren was also born in Japan since Tsukigomori was filmed/aired right on the year Ren was born so it could mean that Kuu was in Japan since Tsukigomori's Katsuki was credited under the name Hozu Shuuei, which Kuu only abandoned when he left for America. Also, since Julie is the one who had him in her tummy, she could have been in America at the time - and considering how head-over-heels Kuu is for Julie, I don't think he'd be leaving his near-term wife alone without him. Bah! It's an immigration and citizenship thing. Anyway, as a dual citizen, he can have two passports according to one of my technical sources, Ecki. Either way, Ren's legally an adult on both countries so he should have chosen one. I don't want to think about that anymore. The point is that Ren's passport would have his real name.

- EDIT: As for mouster's concern about none of the airport officials would have leaked Ren's real identity out, it's a wonderful little place in the airport called an executive lounge, which are usually reserved for government officials, business tycoons, celebrities and other people who are considered VIPs. The level of securiity is higher and I'm sure non-disclosure agreements are strictly followed because of the importance of the people who pass through there. As for the people who made the travel arrangements for Ren, there is a reason why Ren met with the President regarding the location shoot in Chapter 15. Also, in the manga, it's never been mentioned that Ren has ever left Japan since he arrived - even for shoots - so we can't know.

- Hooray! I'm done writing the kiss scene... Now I can actually go back to the story! ^^ Sorry, Kyoko is a serious actress. She is also a blockhead. And I feel like I'm kicking the Ren puppy again. But he'll make a come back soon enough. I hope. Well, depends on my mood when I write.

- Anyway... next chapter - What ever happened to Lory's quest to find true love for Seiichi and the aftereffects of carrying around a pillow in public. Oh yeah, Ren and Kyoko will be there too.

- Reviews are appreciated, but not expected. I hope for a review though since I generally killed the romance on what would have been a very epiphanic moment for Kyoko.


	21. Chapter 21: Kyoko's Disappearance

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Acknowledgments:** Runadaemon for beta-reading

**Disclaimer apply.**

**

* * *

**

Takarada Lory started out his morning wonderfully.

Last night, he broke a cardinal rule and saved the otome game for that idiot Seiichi after discovering a secret route he had never encountered before - True love takes time in his thinking. He had a good night's sleep. He woke up at four in the morning to watch a re-run of a drama he admired for its complications and tribulations in love. He had a good breakfast and kissed his granddaughter before she went off to school. The drive to work had been quick and he got to work early enough to catch up with the lobby receptionist about her new boyfriend.

Oddly enough, the various talents, musicians, actors and the occasional models he'd crossed paths with had a common denominator.

Matsushima-kun and Sawara-san were seated in his office when he arrived. He went to work early that morning specifically at their request.

"I'm afraid to ask, but I don't want to be the only one not to know," Lory asked without preamble. "Why are the stars of this agency walking around carrying pillows?"

The two men exchanged wry glances and Matsushima-kun announced, "Apparently, Ren was spotted at Narita International Airport yesterday carrying one and it was featured on a TV show about the latest trends. The girl hosts were gushing over how it made him look so endearing and sweet. At least, that's what one of the managers told me earlier."

"Oh." Nothing unusual about that. It was a good thing, at some points. Despite upgrading Ren's image and pulling it away from the typical idol status, from a business standpoint, it was good that he's still able to influence young people. "Well, what's happened that you need ME to come in this early?"

Takenori exchanged triumphant glances with Matsushima-san as they stood up and laid down a gossip magazine turned to a page with a picture of Ren and Mogami-kun having a meal with Kuu Hizuri in their Hong Kong location shoot on the President's table.

"Whatever problems we have about their images being together too much may be solved," Matsushima-kun prophetically announced.

"Right!" Takenori grinned. "Those kids have been spotted with Kuu Hizuri, the pride of Japan on the world stage."

"If we can spin it properly," Matsushima-san exclaimed. "The PR Department had an incredible idea to promote how a famous Hollywood actor like Kuu Hizuri has acknowledged those two as magnificent actors of their generation!"

"Right!" Takenori supported. "There have even been rumors circulating in forums that Kuu Hizuri would be taking them on for a big Hollywood movie!"

"That's the most exciting part, isn't it?" Matsushima-kun exclaimed.

Hah! Takenori huffed. Now the President can't make any more snide comments about Matsushima-kun and his lack of imagination!

But the President only turned red, gripped the tabloid in his fists as he lifted it to his face and grumbled, "I'm going to kill that family..." And just proved to Takenori that the President's imagination is far too wild for them. "All four of them."

Family? Eh? Four?

Then the President's secretary entered the room and announced, "President, Director Ogata-san is on the line for you. He said that it has something to do with Director Date Hirotaka-sama."

* * *

"His secretary says that he's still in a meeting indefinitely," Ren announced as he frustratedly hung up the phone for the fifth time. Yashiro-san broke his phone because of another one of his childish pranks and Mogami-san's phone ran out of batteries earlier. "And he's not answering his cellphone either so that meeting must be pretty important."

Mogami-san made a non-committal sound of assent without moving from where she was sitting.

Ren sighed. He screwed up. He'd intended to put his passport, ticket and everything else with his information in the little safe the hotel provided in the closet as soon as he arrived. Unfortunately, he'd been sidetracked from the moment Mogami-san picked him up for dinner to the time he came back to mope after. As a result, the things he needed to put away were left carelessly stuffed in his work bag's pocket when he passed through immigration.

He'd never thought he was capable of being so careless. He thought the biggest problem he would have would be keeping a straight face in front of everyone after all the teasing he and Mogami-san received because of the kiss scene. And in his panic in the hallway, he ended up hauling her into his room before she started making a big, loud fuss about it.

But she didn't make a fuss. In fact, she hadn't moved at all from where she sat down in the beginning.

In retrospect, he was relieved that out of all the people who could have discovered his secret, it was her. Apart from Yashiro-san, he couldn't think of anyone he could trust with that - even if he didn't intend to ever tell Yashiro-san. Now, all he needed to do was explain the situation to her and convince her to keep it a secret. The latter was as good as accomplished - at least he could count on her sense of honor for that. The former... was a bit more complicated. The President dictated all involvement should the occasion come. However, the President was unavailable at the moment and as the seconds ticked by, Mogami-san's massive imagination was probably running faster and becoming more outrageous by the milisecond.

"...are you?"

Ren quickly turned to her. Was he hearing things? It sounded like she just said something. But she hasn't moved at all.

"Sorry..." he said. "I didn't quite catch that."

Her head was still turned down as she met his eyes and repeated her question. "So it was a lie. You already told me that Tsuruga Ren is your stage name, but I didn't expect Corn or Kuon. You're not really a fairy, are you? Unless, of course, you have some secret mission here in the human world you can't tell me about.

He was taken aback and flabbergasted by the question. Even when she was calling him a liar, she was still thinking in terms of fairy tales. Slightly amused, he smiled as he sat down on the chair adjacent to her. His relationship with her, and possibly, his career, were precariously hanging on by a thread and all that he could say was, "You must be thinking how I much I ruined your childhood fantasies."

"No..." she sighed draggingly. "I got used to having those smashed to bits a long time ago."

Crap, Ren thought nervously as the mood of the room dropped lower. He just stepped on a landmine. He knew it and he could still carelessly crack jokes about it. In doing so, he felt as thought he just reduced himself lower, possibly to Fuwa Sho's level. "S-Sorry," he apologized. "That was a stupid comment. But no, I didn't lie. However, I'm not really a fairy."

"You told me that your name is Corn," she frowned. "You never mentioned anything about Kuon."

"I spoke Japanese with an accent when I was a kid," he admitted. He really never lied about 'Corn' as a child. "The only person I talked to in Japanese at home was my father. And he talked with a strong intonation."

"Oh." was all she said before promptly bursting into tears.

Ren was shocked stiff. He kinda expected tears. But not this early into the conversation and so suddenly. "Mo-Mogami-san..." He slowly reached out his hand towards her as he urgently said, "I didn't keep it a secret because I was being mean or wanted to exclude you or anything like that. It's kinda like a secret from everyone. It would have been complicated if anyone actually found out so no one knows about it except the President."

"Bu-but..." she stammered as she furiously wiped her tears. "Corn had a lot of pain. My problems were nothing compared to his and the few days we spent together, I made him listen on and on about how crappy my life was." She sniffled and looked up at him. "How b-bad could it really have been that you ended up like this? Away from people who love you and all alone?"

Ren swallowed. He didn't like thinking about the past that much, if at all. However, it looked like he was really going to have to tell her something solid - everything from the time it all began until the day he left America with the President. If that was the only way to appease the girl from his childhood who had an idea about how much pain he'd been in, he would. He really didn't like seeing her distraught and in tears. "Well, you see-"

"And I never even realized that things were so bad for you," she cut him right off. Her eyebrows furrowed with worry. "All I ever cared about was how awesome it was to live in fairy land. I already told you that Corn always listened to everything I had to say, but I never listened to him. So I always thought that when we met each other again, I'd be the one to listen to everything you had to say." She let out a sad smile. "But in the end, it ended up the same way." Sadly, she said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm a really bad listener, aren't I?"

Well, she kinda was, Ren thought. Right when he was about to open up and tell her everything, she cut him right off. Something inside him painfully squeezed, but at the same time, an overwhelmingly warm feeling spread through him. "What are you talking about?" he asked, determined to make her feel better now. "You always listened to me as the chicken, didn't you? I told him a lot of things I would never tell anybody else. Talking to you always made me feel better." And it wasn't just the chicken he was talking about. Being around her always made him feel like he had a place in the world.

"Only you didn't know it was me until a few days ago," she countered.

At that very moment, Ren needed to redeem himself for saying what he did as a conversation starter. And for the first time in his entire life, after reciting the Princess Rosa fairy tale, he uttered the single-most uncool, corniest line not coming from a script he'd ever had to say to any girl he had an interest in, which unfortunately, would be the only kind of line the only girl he's ever loved would buy. "Then... that was kinda like magic, wasn't it?" There. He said it. He was thanking God no one else was in earshot to hear. He would never live it down. The President did say that love would make him come to the point where he wouldn't care how it makes him look.

And she didn't even buy it.

"I knew it was you that time, you know," she reasoned. "That was the reason I never told you I was Bo."

"Well, he said, trying to save face, as he refused to meet her eyes. "Maybe not for you... But it was the same as you. I never knew that the person I was talking to was you." He was, he concluded, pathetic.

Mogami-san continued to stare at him dubiously until her eyes started becoming as wide as saucers and sparkly. "Really? I can conjure up that kind of magic?"

He was saved. "Did you even have any doubt?" Hell... she was happy so he was happy. "Enough magic to be in the presence of the fairy king and queen."

She cooed. "The fairy king and-" She stopped mid-sentence and her shoulders drooped. Ren felt the atmosphere drop again. "So..." she started in a dragging tone. "The whole time during dinner yesterday, when I thought they were talking to me, they were really talking to you."

"Eh?"

"Of course they would..." she let out a humorless laugh. She turned to the window. "Just when I thought they've actually accepted me as their son, their own son was actually sitting right before their very eyes."

Son?

"You mean daughter," he corrected her. Though knowing how sharp his mother could be, she would be thinking of her as THAT kind of daughter. His father was unpredictable enough though - he never could quite figure out how the man thinks.

"Huh?"

"They obviously like you very much, you know," he affirmed. "Didn't he give you permission to call him 'otou-san,' and didn't she tell you that the two of you will have a lot of fun shopping and cooking together when you go visit them? So there's no doubt that they look at you as their daughter." When he noticed the look of disbelief on her face, he declared. "I should know. I am their son, you know."

She smiled happily. "And almost like my brother."

Huh? He stared at her blankly.

"Well," she answered logically as she started twirling her fingers with a lock of hair. "If I can consider them as my parents and they look at me as their daughter... Then that would make you something like an older brother, right?"

"No!" he near-shouted ferociously.

This girl is someone he spent half the time being hopelessly in love with. After a year of knowing her, he could barely break out of his senpai shell. Considering how Mogami-san clung to an idea once she gets it, the last thing he ever wanted her to think of him as was an older brother.

* * *

Seiji grumbled as he made his way to the door, answering the insistent knocking on his hotel suite door.

Whatever it is, it should be very, very, VERY important, he thought moodily. He hadn't slept very much since they arrived in Hong Kong, which was why the post-production day briefing with his assistant director had been done in the bus that took them back to the hotel.

"What?" he curtly asked as he opened the door.

"Ah," the person on the other side was flustered. "I'm sorry to interrupt your sleep, Director Shingai," Oohara-chan bowed politely. "But Kyoko-chan hasn't returned to our rooms since we came back from the site. I tried calling her phone, but I remembered that her battery died when she was answering a message from a friend."

Seiji's eyes widened. "Kyoko-chan is missing?"

She nodded. "It's almost been an hour. I'm starting to get worried. I just went directly to you because I didn't want to worry anyone else."

"No, no," he reassured her as he ruffled his hair. "It's fine. You did the right thing." But inside, he was panicking. President Takarada was going to murder him!!! He lost one of President Takarada's favorite girls and Japan's next big star under his watch. But he had to assume the position of calm and command and asked the actress, "Where did you last see her? Everyone is supposed to be on a buddy system, right?"

"We were on the bus together," Oohara-chan nodded. Seiji relaxed a little. At least Kyoko-chan wasn't left on site and was just somewhere in the hotel. "But then she was pulled aside by the assistant director about the changes in the shooting schedule since he couldn't tell her on site since she was in all the scenes."

"Then let's go ask him," Seiji, in nothing more than his pajamas and slippers, stepped out of his room and was followed by Oohara-san three doors down to the assistant director's room.

"Kyoko-chan?" the assistant director sleepily asked as he rubbed his eyes. "After talking to her, she said something about going to the hotel gift shop to get something to drink. Vincent-kun went with her because he mentioned wanting to get something too."

"Can you call Vincent's room?" Seiji requested. He just wanted to be assured of Kyoko-chan's whereabouts before they go back to sleep.

"OK."

Seiji and Oohara-chan stepped in and looked at the assistant director expectantly as he spoke on the phone to ask about Kyoko-chan's whereabouts. "Tsuruga-kun?" the assistant director exclaimed. "Ah... OK. We'll check with him then." He hung up and turned to them. "Vincent-kun said they were at the shop together and went to the elevators together. But since the elevator got overloaded, she and Tsuruga-kun stepped out and just waited for the next one." He picked up the phone. "Let me check with Tsuruga-kun." He waited then announced, "It's busy or maybe he didn't put it back on the cradle properly. Since mobile phone broke last night, he's been using the hotel phone a lot. But he should be sleeping already."

"Check with his manager," Seiji ordered as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair. "He might know something."

The assistant director obeyed and said, "Yashiro-san, it's me! Sorry to wake you up, but Director Shingai and I are just wondering if you would know where-?" With a shocked expression on his face, he pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. "He hung up. It's very unusual for Yashiro-san to hang up just like that."

"Damn it," Seiji cursed. "Let's get it over and done with already, and just go up to his room."

* * *

"Oh." Kyoko answered for the sake of answering.

It did seem quite presumptuous of her to think that. Even if it was Tsuruga-san himself who acknowledged that otou-san and Julie-san thought of her as their child, it did not automatically mean he would consider her as a sister. Still, why else would he tease her and make fun of her if he didn't think of her as a younger sister? she thought disappointed.

And why was she disappointed? Just because she found out he was Corn/Kuon, it didn't change a damn thing. Tsuruga-san will still continue to treat her as the nuisance that she is. She just knew his secret, that's all.

"Um..." he suddenly uneasily said. "About my parents..."

"Huh?"

"...and Kuon. Why I had to-"

"Oh!" she exclaimed. Kyoko waved her hands. "It's alright. No need to explain that part. I understand everything perfectly."

He looked at her in surprise. "You do?" Then he narrowed his eyes and suspiciously asked, "What do you understand?"

"Obviously..." she clasped her hands together and said, "Corn told me that his wings have grown several times, but he could never quite take flight. So you went away, grew your own wings so you can fly freely. I mean, after seeing how great otou-san can be, it's no question that you became a new person to make your own way in the acting world to prove that you can do it on your own away from from his grasp and influence. It's not like what you told me before that you wanted to be famous right away, you were just eager to be recognized as someone who can exceed him."

There was actually something quite quixotic about the whole thing, she thought dreamily. She was glad to see that Corn and Kuon were not broken or gone from the world. And knowing Tsuruga-san was someone who is someone above the clouds to anyone who sees him made her very happy.

Tsuruga-san's gaping mouth closed and he let out a soft smile that made her freeze. "You understand more than I expected."

"Well," she smiled. "Why wouldn't I? You were the one who said that my feelings were synchronized with Kuon's after all. So I know why you kept it a secret and why you want to keep it a secret." Even she didn't want him to know she aimed to rise to the level of the person she admired the most and be recognized for it. Well... apart from the whole revenge thing. "For now."

Surprised, he asked, "For now?"

"Of course, just for now," She smiled. There was no way he would keep Tsuruga Ren forever. "Because you love your father. And someday, when you are able to fly back to him using your own strength, you'd want the whole world to know about the father you have so much pride in..."

Kyoko's breath was taken away at the warm, angelic smile that Tsuruga-san gave her. "You're right." Until it hurt her eyes and she was forced to divert her gaze. He let out a chuckle. "But we're not as synchronized as you think, Kyoko-chan."

"Kyoko-chan?" She looked up at him, surprised. Eh? Then she frowned as she studied his face. "Now that I think about it, I feel kind of weird... What should I call you now? Should I still call you Tsuruga-san but Corn when we're alone? Or do you prefer Kuon? Or maybe Hizuri-san - No, obviously not. You're keeping that a secret."

"Try Ren," he answered helpfully. "It's less complicated that way."

"What?" She was astonished. "No..."

"Why not?" he asked. "You know all of my secrets."

"But-" she protested.

"And people have called me 'Ren' for much less reason than that," he reasoned. "It would be strange if the only other person in Japan who knows wouldn't."

Kyoko just stared blankly at him. It was strange. The very-strict-when-it-comes-to-formality-and-structure Tsuruga Ren has actually given her permission to call him by his name. Well, it was his stage name, but she knew that she couldn't go running around shouting 'Kuon" or 'Corn', even if she wanted to. Not that she ever thought she would, but at the very least, she should at least be on his level before she can actually call him Ren. Then again, the damn guy keeps getting better and better... that goal is just about impossible.

"Well," she argued. "Won't it be weird if I call you 'Ren' and you call me 'Kyoko-chan'? Maybe-"

"Then I'll drop the -chan," he said with finality.

What the hell...? He seemed so assertive about the whole topic. It's just a name. And anyway, if she was going to earn the privilege, she should at least do something to deserve it or maybe even just because he actually wanted her to. Not because she just happened to stumble upon his secret by accident.

"What do you say, Kyoko?" he grinned. "Care to give it a try?"

Ah... A try. There's a time limit. He'll probably take it all back as soon as she does something to make herself a disgrace as his kouhai. Honestly, the man can be quite cheap and stingy sometimes.

* * *

Yukihito let out a helpless yelp.

His magical fingers just destroyed another touch-tone phone, halfway-through a sentence.

Well... he justified to himself. He sleepily dragged himself to answer the phone when the ringing wouldn't let up. In his sleepy stupor, he forgot to put on the latex gloves he conveniently laid down beside it as soon as he settled in his room.

That was the assistant director who just called. It was weird that he'd be calling at an hour where everyone was probably sleeping. Well, he thought to himself. It must be something important that couldn't wait until the assembly. He'd just take a quick trip to his room to find out the news. He broke his mobile phone the day before and didn't bring his spare.

In his robe, he stepped out of his room and headed for the elevators and was surprised to find Director Shingai, the assistant director, Oohara-san, and Vincent-san talking. "What's going on?"

"Ah, Yashiro-san!" The assistant director sighed with relief. "Is Tsuruga-san in his room?"

"Yeah..." he nodded. "At least, I think so. He should be. Why?"

Everyone exchanged nervous glances.

"Yashiro-san..." Director Shingai said. "Was he with Kyoko-chan?"

"Yeah," he nodded. He knew the elevator was going to be overloaded so he went ahead of Ren getting on. Knowing Kyoko-chan's soliticiousness towards her senpai and his gentlemanly manners, they would end up spending time with each other.

"So they're together?" the assistant director sighed with relief. "That's good."

"No," Vincent-san interjected. "That's not good. Not good at all"

What did he mean not good? Weirdo! Yukihito frowned at him.

"Oohara-chan," the actor turned to Oohara-san. "How long has Kyoko-chan been missing?"

Eh... Kyoko-chan is missing? With Ren?

"A little over an hour," she answered.

"And she's with Tsuruga-kun?"

Oohara-san slowly nodded, suddenly stopped, and everyone stared at each other as realization came forth.

Tsuruga Ren... Yukihito reflected in horror. ...whose pure and naive heart has been continuously denied by the girl he loves might just have been driven to do the unthinkable!

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- Yeah... I finally figured I should give the two of them an honest moment together. Not so much though... I had to re-write entire first draft because it was too doramatic that I couldn't stand it. Anyway, that's the reason of my late update... and why I haven't been answering a lot of the PMs of the people I regularly correspond to - brainstorming kills brain cells. Anyway, I'll answer them real soon. I promise.

- Yup... I don't like making weird assumptions about what really happened with Ren's past. It felt weird when I tried to make one. Sorry to anyone who's been expecting one. But I always thought Kyoko had "adequate" knowledge about Kuon to understand why Ren took on the name Tsuruga Ren - if she'd have the opportunity to make the connection between Kuon and Corn, which seeing Ren's passport in the previous chapter made possible.

- Also, just to point out what some of readers/reviewers who made the assumption that the fic's movie's title, Kismet, is based on a song, I actually picked the movie title 'Kismet' for several reasons, but not because of a song by a group/band called Silent Sanctuary - I actually found the lyrics of that song generic and weh, but that's my own personal musical taste. The reason why I chose Kismet is because when I was making up the plot and title of the movie, I was listening to an all-girl string quartet called Bond (they're excellent) and Kismet was playing when I was thinking of the title. It had nothing to do with the piece itself - it was just the word 'Kismet'. Also, kismet is an English word with Punjabi roots meaning 'destiny' so since the title was fitting enough, I chose that. Plus the fact that when pronounced in Japanese after being written and read in katakana, it can actually be pronounced as 'ki-su-me-tto', which served it's purpose in Chapter 6. **That's it.** Don't read too much into it than absolutely necessary. I didn't particularly care at the time because I was more interested in moving on with the story between Kyoko and Ren and in order to do that, I needed to have a movie plot and title.

- The whole 'kinda like magic' thing... After several consultations with several male friends, I learned that any guy would probably shoot himself on the foot before saying that to a girl they were in love with. Five claim that they really, really, really, really, really have to love the girl before they actually say those words or at least, know that they won't be pointed and laughed at by the said girl. And an alpha male like Ren... LOL!

- As always, reviews are appreciated, but not expected. I can't say when the next chapter will be up. Just don't expect it to exceed a week. Cheers!


	22. Chapter 22: Ren's Manager The Fanboy

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Acknowledgment:** Runadaemon for beta-reading

**Dedications: **To LadyCatfish27 for pointing out that Yashiro has broken way too many things on this fanfic. Well, just to spite you, I made him break some more things. XD No... Seriously, thank you. You are singularly responsible for breaking my writer's block for this chapter.

**Disclaimers apply. I think. I don't know anymore.**

* * *

He stared at his reflection after putting his toothbrush away.

He is Tsuruga Ren - the blank slate he was given as a second chance to mold into anyone he wanted. Because of intense discipline and dedication, he gained fame and high praise for his work. Enough that he rose to become the number one star in Japan. He was in demand for his ability to realistically depict roles for anything from high drama to intense suspense thrillers.

Why was his life turning into a comedy?

Sulking, he slowly walked out of the bathroom into his bedroom. But he doubted he'd get any sleep. There was so much on his mind.

The day had been near-perfect. The end ruined it all. Not because people came barging in, worried for her. But because of the damn annoying misconception everyone had as to why she disappeared with him. He recognized the suspiciously looked at her instantly.

Of course it would strike them as odd that, after an hour of being together after disappearing, they were found with her eyes red from crying and her skirt rumpled from her gripping it too much because of the highly emotional conversation they had. And so in order to not give people the wrong impression, he ended up saying, "It was my fault. I forgot to mention that the president of our agent contacted me, wanting to speak to Mogami-san and myself about... something after the shoot. We're still actually having a hard time contacting him so it has taken us this long."

With luck on his side, what he said was validated when the call from the President came and everyone politely excused themselves. The President scolded him for being careless with his personal identity information and for being spotted having dinner with his parents. She took the responsibility for the dinner thing and cleared up that she didn't know it was his parents until way after dinner was over. After, the President gave her a short brief about his situation - Ren felt the things he told her were less than what she actually already knew. But of course she declared her loyalty to the point of death: should anything about his secret come out, it will never come from her.

But the damage was done. She automatically reverted back to calling him 'Tsuruga-san', if only because he called her 'Mogami-san' first.

Timing, he reflected, was his worst enemy... alongside hope.

It shouldn't have mattered. It was just a name - a stage name at that. Despite common sense, there is something inside him demanding something more from his very-strict-with-formality kouhai, he thought as he turned to the blanket and sat down on the bed. He couldn't help but wonder when he stopped being content with how things were going.

But Ren didn't have time to think about it any more because his exhausted mind, heart and soul shut down as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

"Kyoko-chan," Oohara-san scolded as she drew the curtains closed to keep the early morning light out of their room. "Next time, please don't just disappear for a long time without telling anyone."

"I know..." Kyoko contritely apologized as she climbed onto the bed. "I'm sorry. I lost track of the time."

She did it again.

She got carried away by the situation, lost track of everything other than the situation she was in, and drove many people to worry about her. She didn't even know that more than an hour had passed. She smiled sardonically. Maybe she wasn't so different from other girls as she'd thought. She could be surprisingly normal about losing track of things with only the presence of Tsuruga Ren beside her. Being around that guy did that to people.

"Momose-san told me you did the same thing in Karuizawa," Oohara-san continued as she climbed onto her own bed. "I know that you and Tsuruga-san are very close friends and that you two hang out around each other a lot. I've also known the two of you for a long time, but not everybody else has. Some might end up getting creepy ideas like Vincent-san did."

Which was why she ended up on the floor in a deep dogeza, apologizing to everyone for making them worry. Really... how embarrassing for Tsuruga-san, he had far better taste in females than that. He's the most sought-after guy in Japan - just because he's a little older doesn't mean he's scraping the bottom of the barrel. Not only does he have Julie-san's eternal beauty gene, he's still the number one actor in the popularity charts.

"At least everything's straightened out," Oohara-san said as she patted the blanket on her lap.

Yeah.... one dazzling smile from Tsuruga-san paired with a sincere apology and everyone bought it. Hell, it even rendered the guys speechless. That guy... can really do anything and get away with it. Unlike her, who always had to kiss the floor and be scraped off it just to be earn forgiveness, she thought as she set the daruma-shaped alarm clock she brought along for the trip to 11:00.

"Kyoko-chan..."

"Mmm?" she looked up at her roommate.

"Make me worry like that again and i'll be very angry at you," Oohara-san sternly said. "You make people who care about you worry too much."

Kyoko could only stare blankly at her. There are people who care about her? Didn't people simply tolerate her because she's a persistent and hard worker who is constantly in their face? A faint blush crept through her cheeks at the thought. "OK" with a slight nod was just about all that she could manage after her overwhelming day.

Oohara-san smiled and reached for the lampshade between their beds. "Well, I'll see you in a few hours. Good night."

Kyoko laid down on the bed. Only then did she feel exhaustion kick in.

What a long day she had, she thought sleepily. But it's been worth it. She was over and done with the kiss scene. She's been acknowledged by the person she admired the most as the kind of actress she always wanted to become. She learned Corn and Kuon are not really gone from the world. And she was told that there are people who care about her.

But...

Because of the interruption, and because she got sidetracked with the whole naming thing - which all came to nothing in the end when Tsuruga-san reverted back to calling her 'Mogami-san' again, she lost the the chance forever to ask him something about Kuon. It's not like she can just open up the subject at any time she pleased - that was the reason why it's a secret. But purely for academic purposes, in order to know what she missed out on during her acting exercise with otou-san, she wanted to know what Tsuruga-san meant when he said that she and Kuon were not as synchronized as she thought...

* * *

The Monday afternoon shoot resumed at one. Nearly everyone was moody because of the very tight schedule they had to keep. Half of the cast were dragged around by their managers, bleary eyes and coffee cups in hand. In between scenes, nearly everyone took naps or drank from their unlimited supply of coffee.

For the first time in a long time, Ren woke up almost late. He didn't know why, but he was more exhausted than he thought. The sleep did him a world of good. And he was in a much better mood than he thought he would be in, when Mogami-san greeted her with the same formality as before.

Something about knowing that she already knew all his secrets calmed him down. The little bit more extra attention and smiles she gave him helped too.

What she was doing reminded him of himself after he first found out that she was the same girl that he used to play with that one time he vacationed in Kyoto when he was ten. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if he would have relaxed his attitude and opinion of her if he never found out about that. He would probably still think she's an idiotic girl who only wanted to be popular for her ridiculous revenge. He probably wouldn't have even bothered with her.

"OK, cut!"

Ren looked up as Mogami-san finished the office scene with Oohara-san, Vincent-san and the guy who was playing the businessman Chiaki would consider marrying over Satoshi. He actually didn't have any scenes in the office building that the crew set up from an abandoned floor to a great office set with an amazing view of the business district. But they were moving from this place straight to the next location, The Peak, so everyone came along.

"We'll be taking an hour-long break here," the assistant director announced. "After that, everyone on the bus. We'll be moving to the next location. Everyone who has scenes on the next location, please go to wardrobe and change here before heading to the bus."

"We need to be there by five so we can get a good shot of the skyline," Director Shingai followed-up. "Actors, when you get there, we start shooting right away. Some of the crew are already setting up there so the location will be ready by the time we get there."

"OK," everyone scatteredly answered.

"Tsuruga-kun," Director Shingai gestured for him to come with him as Ren started to move towards Mogami-san, who was standing, waiting for him.

"Mogami-san," Ren called back at to her. "Go on ahead. I'll follow you guys. Just save me a seat."

"OK," she said as she ran to follow Oohara-san and Vincent-san as they made their way to the makeshift dining area.

The director discussed some things that he wanted done with the next scene. It didn't take long though, and soon enough, he and Yashiro-san were inside the dining area carrying their packed lunches, looking for Mogami-san.

She was easy to spot. She was seated with Vincent-san and Oohara-san as she ranted on, "...that is way too out-of-character!" she scoffingly exclaimed as she stared at the screen of the laptop, he's seen Vincent-san carrying around. She was talking and typing at the same time, her nimble fingers moved at an amazing speed on the keyboard, while she ranted on, "Even if Mio would do something like this, because of hatred, she'd still end up with Katsuki, who she already hated because of Misao and Mizuki. There's no way she can be happy with a guy like that. Anyway, if she was planning to do that in the first place, why wouldn't she have ever joined forces with Mizuki near the end of the series to have revenge on the entire Hongo family and help the two of them together?" Then her fingers stopped and she huffed. "This LovemonLT guy doesn't know what the hell he's talking about!"

"What..." Ren asked. "...is everyone talking about?" It sounded like Dark Moon, but from an alternate universe.

"A Dark Moon fan fiction," Oohara-san answered, looking thoroughly amused.

"A what?" Ren raised an eyebrow.

"A Katsuki and Mio love fan fiction," Vincent-san cheerfully answered. "A friend of mine told me to read it since I was a really big fan of the show when it was airing. This story is really great."

"Really?" Yashiro-san exclaimed as he flew to their side and grabbed the monitor to tilt it at an angle where he could read properly. "This is actually quite good."

"It is not!" Mogami-san said with utmost indignation. "You work hard to develop a character you can be proud of. Hell, a lot of us go through hell just to create one. Then someone comes and totally changes their personalities and value system, making them unable to react the way a character should." She turned to him almost angrily. "Doesn't that just piss you off, Tsuruga-san? Don't you believe in the one true pairing of Katsuki and Mizuki?"

"Ren..." Yashiro-san grinned widely at him. "Want to read it? It's actually really well-written and very compelling. It's-"

"Noooo~, my laptop!" Vincent-san yelped as the screen suddenly blacked out.

"Shoot!" Yahsiro-san's hand flew away from the monitor. "Crap..." he precariously said. "I-I will replace it. I'm sorry, Vincent-san. I'm sure that the files in your hard drive will still be retrievable."

"Mannn~" Vincent-san groaned. "The next chapter's supposed to be a really hot love scene between the two!"

"Eh?" he and Mogami-san asked blankly.

Oohara-san balled her fist and swung it onto Vincent's head. "Pervert," she muttered. Then she turned to Yashiro-san and said, "Don't worry about  
retrieving those files, Yashiro-san! Don't even think about replacing it either. This guy probably only has porn in it!"

"You break too many things on this trip," Ren scolded his manager.

* * *

"You seem really cheerful," Ren commented Wednesday morning as they sat down in the hotel lobby cafe with their luggage beside them. They were having coffee while everyone else panicked, getting their things together for their 11:00 AM flight. So far, only the two of them were there. Not that he would complain. He liked being able to spend time with her.

The shoot finally wrapped on time and without further incident. Last night, Director Shingai treated everyone to dinner and after, everyone went out exploring at Stanley Market. He, Yashiro-san and Vincent-san ended up drinking after they quickly bought souvenirs while waiting for the girls to come back from their own shopping.

"Actually, I'm kinda annoyed," Mogami-san answered. "I had to repack my things. Twice."

"Well," he chuckled. "You did buy a lot of stuff."

"Yeah, there's that too..." she smiled as she raised the coffee cup to her mouth and took a sip. Then she asked, "Um... Tsuruga-san?"

"Yeah?"

"You're still coming tonight, right?" she asked nervously.

"To dinner?" he asked. "Of course I am. I might be a little late though. I have a meeting with the President at six and you know how those things drag out. I'll call you in case."

"A meeting?" she blinked at him. "But I thought you didn't have anything on your schedule today."

"How'd you know?"

She looked surprised at what she said and embarrassed, she answered, "I... actually asked you because I knew you'd be free." Guiltily, she twirled her fingers through her hair and said, "To be perfectly honest, I actually asked Yashiro-san for your schedule. Since we'll both have a week-long break from the Kismet shoot and our schedules don't match anytime except tonight. It's the only time we have free time together... Umm..." Her face reddened.

Ren smiled. It made him really happy that she was going out of her way for him. "Don't worry. I'll be there at nine."

"Also," she shifted uncomfortably. "I really wanted to make a nice dinner with things you like to eat. But..." She looked up at him. "I'm sorry, but I don't think that I'll be able to serve grilled frogs. Apart from being very expensive, they actually take a long time to prepare and cook. And to be completely honest, I really don't like eating them so I never really studied recipes for them that much."

Ren's eyes widened. Grilled frogs? "Why would you even think of serving grilled frogs?"

"Isn't that your favorite food?" Her eyes brows furrowed. "When I was your temporary manager, you looked like you wanted to eat them. But I became whiny about it and you just demoted yourself to hamburger in a family restaurant."

He was just teasing her that time. He didn't actually like eating frog. To him, anything she would prepare would be fine. As long as it's something she prepared, he'd be happy. "Mogami-san, you know... I actually don't like eating frog."

"Huh?"

"That's not my favorite food," Ren answered. Actually, he really had no preferences when it comes to food. It's not like eating is a hobby of his. "When I said I wanted to eat frog that time, I was teasing you because you looked so shy about having your stomach growling loudly."

She frowned at him. "So you were making fun of me," she grumbled.

"I was teasing you, not making fun of you," he answered firmly as he reached for his cup again. "You should really know the difference."

She looked at him dubiously. "There's a difference?"

* * *

"'...and Katsuki will never look at Mio that way," LovemonLT read his latest review. "He is too in love with Mizuki and would never look at anyone as unprincesslike as Mio, who already doesn't even consider herself to be human any longer."

What on earth? LovemonLT thought in despair at the words written by 'Hongo Mio-sama'. She's too involved with the canon! At least he's staying in-character as much as he can. He pouted. And he's been getting so much praise for it too. If you pushed the right buttons, Mio can be capable of love too! This Hongo Mio-sama person is too...

"President," Takarada Lory's personal secretary announced.

...lacking in love! If he knew who this person was, he'd get her into showbusiness just so he could stick her into the Love Me Section just so she can learn things about love. Everything can be solved by true love!

"What is it?" he asked.

His secretary stood upright and said, "Director Ogata-sama and Director Date Hirotaka-sama have arrived."

"Oh," Lory turned to his desk clock. Right on time. He quickly minimized his window and closed his laptop shut. "Show them in."

He stood up and smiled as his old friend and his son walked inside the office. "Date-kun," Lory grinned. "What brings you here?"

Date Hirotaka-kun, his old friend, was a splitting but older version of his son. He spoke with the same soft yet firm tone that oozes with confidence - something that his son only started developing recently. "The legendary Love Monster Lory Takarada," he announced grandly. "There's someone I need to borrow-"

"Borrow?" Lory let out a loud laugh. "You're not a kidnapper, are you? You're going to give it back, right?"

Date-kun smiled back. "Only if the captive wants to be returned. Then again, the attention of other kidnappers mights be piqued as well." Then he paused and turned to his son. "And another thing..."

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- This chapter is not supposed to exist. So I hereby declare this to be a filler chapter. Why put up one when I could have skippped it by writing the next chapter right off? Well, if I wrote it like that, it will end up looking like, 'Where the hell did that come from?' What happened in between??? I don't know... I think if you read into this chapter, there are a lot of the things instrumental to future chapters - not that there will be much left. Thank God! The story's nearing it's end. So don't worry, after Ren's dinner at Kyoko's, big things will be happening.

- I don't know if Lory will actually write. And fanfiction at that when he could have it published and all. But... it's Lory. He'll do anything as long as it's love-related and... it's Lory. LOL!

- Filler chapter so no reviews expected. But will be very much appreciated. Next chapter: Fluff. As requested (demanded) by so many of you reviewers, because of that stupid thing I wrote about Ren skipping lunch because of Kanae and Kyoko finding out about it, it's Ren's dinner at the Daruma-ya! Yay~! Now I have to write it -_-'''


	23. Chapter 23: Kyoko's Dinner Date

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Acknowledgments: **Runadaemon for beta-reading. Bloody_Rose021 for plot discussions/OOC checks.

**Dedication: **Alliriyan, who I promised could beta-read this chapter while Runa is on holiday. Unfortunately, Runa came back before I could finish the chapter.

**Disclaimers apply.**

* * *

"You're not coming?!"

"Yeah, sorry," Ren apologetically answered as he slowly parked his car at the side of the street. "I made other plans on the spur of the moment and forgot to cancel on you."

"Hmm..." Nick's voice hummed through the other line. "A date?"

Ren chuckled as he pulled the car to a stop. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Actually, I do," Nick scoffed.

There was a pause, meaning his friend was waiting for an answer. "Well," he was allowed to answer this much at least. "I'll certainly be in prettier company than you would be."

Nick sighed. "I shouldn't have asked. Anyway... I'll see you this weekend for the shoot."

Satisfied that he got him to stop the questions, Ren said, "I'll see you guys then." Ren ended the call and put his new mobile phone - something that cost him a considerable amount of trouble because of the President's insistent questions about everything that happened in Hong Kong not involving his parents - into his pocket.

Then he reached for a cap before stepping out of the car. It made him look awfully suspicious at 8:47 in the evening in the kind of neighborhood he was in, but it couldn't be helped. He crossed the street into the small pedestrian walkway Mogami-san said would lead to the entrance of the Daruma-ya's kitchen. Parking up front would only get them both into more trouble with the assuming press and the section heads. It was supposed to be a pain, but he'd grown quite used to sneaking in and out of places that weren't TV stations or studio lots to avoid fans and the press. It was just annoying to sneak around seeing Mogami-san as though it was a weird, embarrassing secret. What he was doing was actually more suspicious to the people who knew them than to anyone else.

He pushed that to the back of his mind. He should be excited. He's going to have dinner and spend an evening with the girl he loves.

Things hadn't exactly been going how he thought it would - not that he had anything particular in mind. But he was the guy. He should be the one making all the moves, not the other way around. He should be the one looking after her. He should be the one helping her. He should be the one protecting her... giving her presents... taking care of her. Hell, he should be the one asking her to dinner.

Somehow, that felt like a lot of kicks to his male pride, he admitted to himself, thoroughly becoming depressed.

However, this was Mogami Kyoko he was dealing with. Anything and everything he's ever done to indicate his intentions to monopolize her have been shot down. Mercilessly. So, he concluded, having her to be the one to initiate anything at all was a good thing.

He should have at least brought something - like flowers or maybe dessert.

Too late for that, he thought as he knocked on the door. He was going to start making up for it tonight.

"As expected from the Never Late King," she greeted him with a smile. "You're actually early," she said as she opened the door wider for him.

"Yeah," he answered as he entered. "Traffic wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

The kitchen was practical and clean. It had none of the sophisticated gadgetry his own professionally-decorated but rarely-used kitchen had, but it had everything that could be considered as essential, including a whole array of delicious aromas wafting through the air.

"It's not the traffic I was concerned about," she said as she started scrubbing her hand in the sink. "You did say that you were going to have a meeting with President Takarada so you might be a little late."

"It was long, but it ended earlier than I thought," he answered non-commit ally. The details of that meeting were being pushed to the back of his mind. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about it.

"As long as there aren't any problems then that's fine," she answered as she wiped her hands on the practical pale blue and while gingham apron she wore over jeans and a pale yellow top. With her hair pulled back by a wide headband, she looked cute and the simplicity suited her.

She was also, he noticed, more relaxed around him. Their conversations were still polite but less formal. And she smiled more. She'd been like that since the location shoot. His own philosophical point-of-view that he developed early on as a child could only point to the fact that she knew who he really was - the childhood friend she had so much affection for. He was the same. He didn't think he would have ever looked at her differently and allowed himself to soften his attitude towards her if he never found out she was the same girl he played pretend with years ago.

"Anyway, just wait in the dining area," she pointed at the curtained doorway that separated the two areas. "It'll just be another ten to fifteen minutes before I finish here."

Remembering his manners, he volunteered, "Do you need help with anything?" Of course, being a total novice in the kitchen, he didn't know how much help he'd actually be. He just didn't want to leave her side.

"It's fine," she answered as she stirred something in a pot. "I'm just waiting for the cooking time to finish and everything will be perfect.""

"Then what about the place setting?" he asked. "I can help with that."

"Nope!" she cheerfully answered. "That's been taken care of already."

She invited him to dinner, giving the impression she wanted to spend time with him, even if it was for a suspicious excuse like a 'skipped lunch' that she was not responsible for, and now she was shooing him away. Well, the kitchen was her undeniable turf. But still...

He was pouting when he lifted the curtain and was visibly startled at the sight of Kotonami Kanae-san setting a plate on a table meant for three.

Their eyes met and she raised her hand, giving him a short wave as she said, "Yo."

* * *

She couldn't believe that he actually came.

Tsuruga Ren was definitely not the type to accept casual dinner invitations from anyone. Especially not from newbie kouhais who are at the bottom of the pecking order in LME. Heck, at the bottom of the entire industry. And for no other reason than to make up for a missed lunch break from more than a week ago.

Maybe... her on-again, off-again suspicion that this guy might actually be romantically interested in Kyoko might have some bearing. After all, he did give her things typical of any guy who is making his intentions known. However, since she couldn't always be around to observe them, she couldn't quite figure out if he actually liked her or just had a special fondness for her as a friend.

Well... she thought as she sneakily glanced at him. Either way, it's still weird that he would just come tonight for no reason.

He didn't look particularly happy to see her there. Seriously, what did he expect when Kyoko told him it was to make up for the missed lunch? A cozy dinner for just the two of them? Well, she also missed the lunch.

"Sorry for the long wait!" Kyoko cheerfully announced as she walked through the doorway with two dishes in her hands. "That's no good, Moko-san," she said as she set down the plates. "You have to sit beside Tsuruga-san. I have to be beside the rice cooker to serve the rice.'' Then her eyes glinted with obsession. "Besides, I have to make sure the two of you eat properly."

Really... Kanae thought grudgingly as she stood up to move chairs. What a busybody! Even Tsuruga-san wasn't too happy about the arrangement.

"OK..." Kyoko surveyed the table and said, "I'll just get the last dish then the rice. After that, we can eat."

"Let me help," she and Tsuruga-san said in unison.

"No way!" Kyoko shook her head. "Just sit tight. I'm nearly done." Then without another word, she turned around and pranced back to the kitchen.

Kanae sighed and turned her attention to Tsuruga-san, who she was supposed to be entertaining as a guest, but she caught him staring intently at the fish dish. "Is there something wrong, Tsuruga-san?"

Tsuruga-san turned to her. "No... I'm actually amazed that she could make something like that." He pointed at the white winter radish crafted into several roses that surrounded the fish as garnish. "That must have taken forever to make."

"That's nothing," she commented. "She made three in five minutes." Of course, that was a guesstimate. She was sure Kyoko could make more than three in that time frame.

"I didn't know she could do something like that," he answered. "I mean, I know she's a great cook and artistic, but three in five minutes?"

Surprised, she asked, "Really? What do you think got her into LME?"

He mirrored her surprise. "She got into LME by slicing up radishes?"

"And turning it into a rose - no... a cabbage," she confirmed. "Well that, and smashing a mobile phone to the ground during the reaction test."

Tsuruga-san's mouth quivered. "And those got her into LME?" Before she could answer by pointing out the impoliteness of talking about someone who wasn't there, he said, "Never mind. Nothing anyone in the Love Me Section does should surprise me anymore." He sighed and his gaze landed on the food. It was a very generous spread. "I can't believe she made so much and is still bringing out more. I don't think we'll be able to finish it. Even with the three of us."

Kanae couldn't believe her ears! "Y-you are going to eat every last morsel!" she commanded, brimming with indignation for her best friend. "Despite being tired from a long, hectic overseas shoot, that girl took the time to shop, pick the best ingredients, cook and even act as hostess tonight." Then she started muttering to herself in a very low tone. "And to think I had to pay for everything just so she'll stop being upset with me. All because I made you skip lunch. All that money wasted because we had to go to some high-class supermarket that's never heard of time service before just to feed a rich picky eater like you. And she picked out the really pricey stuff too because I told her that the sky's the limit because I just didn't want Kyoko upset with me. Kobe beef... tuna... strawberries... Everything ended up costing twice more than what they normally do in regular supermarkets. Then there's the taxi. Why even go there when there's a perfectly good supermarket with time service two blocks away?" Her voice rose with annoyance. "So don't tell me you're not going to eat it. Do you have any idea what a treat it is to have this much meat in one meal prepared by someone who can qualify as a chef? It really pisses me off!"

"Kotonami-san?"

Caught off-guard, she turned to him.

He gave her a wide, princely smile as he said, "I'm not going to take back the -10 points that I gave you."

That superstar smile of his really was annoying. "I know that! I would never do something like this for 10 measly points."

"Then what's this make up dinner for?"

Why? She'd never tell him. She wouldn't even tell Kyoko that it's because she didn't want her to be upset with her. So there's no way that she would tell Tsuruga Ren.

Then he chuckled. "Never mind. I think I understand."

What the heck did he understand?

* * *

All throughout dinner, Ren debated against himself the wisdom of President Takarada's creation of the Love Me Section - clustering girls like Mogami-san in an environment where they would be allowed to think with other like beings.

Love Me girls are definitely different.

They don't fawn over him: they scold him. They say exactly what's on their minds without a care for tact or good manners. They don't talk about frivolous things - except for Mogami-san's brief interest in Kotonami-san's European location shoot. And they talked a lot about work - which Ren admired and respected because of their passion for their craft. Of course, being the senpai and veteran, they turned to him for insights and inputs, which Ren generously supplied.

He had to admit... He wasn't thrilled that Kotonami-san was there to join them for dinner. At first. Then he realized that he was deluding himself when he thought Mogami-san actually wanted to be alone with him. He should have learned by now that when she says something, she means it. So when she said that dinner was to make up for the skipped lunch, it was really to make up for a skipped lunch.

But as dinner moved on, he relaxed and started enjoying himself. Mogami-san really prepared a delicious dinner and he found himself laughing with the girls.

"Eh?" Mogami-san exclaimed. "You're not accepting that role?"

"I got a better offer," Kotonami-san answered as she held out her rice bowl for another service - her fourth, but Ren didn't think she noticed. "Of course, I'm going to be taking that instead."

"But it's a princess role!" Mogami-san reasoned before opening the rice cooker. "Do you have any idea how many people would kill for a role like that?"

"Yeah..." Kotonami-san snidely answered and looked at her meaningfully. "One." Ren sniggered. It was true. "You want the princess role so badly, you play it."

"I would, you know..." Mogami-san puffed her cheeks as she muttered. "But I wasn't offered the role. A lot of people seem to think I'm only good for characters that are considered damaged goods."

"And you're surprised, why?" Ren wryly asked.

"Tsuruga-san's right, you know," Kotonami-san (incredibly) agreed with him. "Your acting and your image suit you like that. If you want the princess roles, you're going to have to wait for the Kismet release for people to look at you in that way." She let out a sigh. "What about you? What kind of roles have you been getting?"

"Huh?" Mogami-san exclaimed with wide eyes. "I still have to talk to Sawara-san about those. There are some I like though. Then I still have to audition for one that Sawara-san said I should try for at any cost. Of course, I still need to attend a crash course for accent and diction for it."

"Accent and diction?" Ren asked. "You mean something like the accents for other regions?" He did go through that for a role before. With her quick grasp for learning, she shouldn't have a hard time with those.

"Something like that..." she answered slowly. "Anyway, I still have to talk to Sawara-san and Matsushima-san about those tomorrow so it's not yet finalized." She turned to Kotonami-san and asked, "So what's so great about this role that you're giving up a wonderful princess role for?"

"The female lead for a murder mystery," Kotonami-san shrugged. "It's going to be directed by Ogata Hiroaki-san so it's going to be good for my career. And it's a great role too. Anyway, it's not for a few months. Shooting won't start until the end of the year."

Ren turned to her. "You're accepting THAT role?"

Kotonami-san gave him a short nod. "Why? Anything wrong with that?"

"Nothing really," Ren gave her an ironic smile. "I signed up for male lead for that one months ago." From one Love Me girl to another. He started feeling a knot forming on his head. At least, no one can ever accuse him of his life being boring anymore.

Mogami-san's eyes twinkled. "The two of you will be co-starring together!" she cried out happily. Then her eyes narrowed and glinted with mischief. "Tsuruga-san, you better prepare yourself. Moko-san is a great actress. She might just end up stealing your 'co-star killer' title. She's THAT good."

He stared at her in awe. She was teasing him. A smiled formed on his face as he replied, "That could never happen, Mogami-san. If Kotonami-san wanted that title, she'd have to co-star with you."

* * *

Dinner lasted nearly two and a half hours.

The beef was tender. The tuna was wonderfully seasoned. The vegetables were simmered to perfection. Dessert was going to be a tempting strawberry cake and tea.

Kanae stared at her reflection in the Daruma-ya's small restroom mirror and decided that she now officially hates her best friend. All those excess calories she didn't need... She couldn't believe she had seven bowls of rice without noticing! She writhed in despair. Everything she just ate tonight will come back to bite her in the ass... or more specifically, her thighs or maybe her waistline.

However, that was probably the least of her worries.

She had suspected time and again that Tsuruga-san liked her best friend. But she never suspected that Kyoko would like him too!

Sitting across the table from her, she noticed the looks that Kyoko had been giving Tsuruga-san whenever she talked to him. And not just the sort of starry-eyed look she often saw with fangirls and co-stars of his when she was his temporary manager. Kyoko looked at him as though he was something poignant and sweet - she was looking at him as if he was someone special and precious to her.

That whole gross exchange between the two of them about him being the co-star killer and her being the co-star killer was just some kind of indication that they're acknowledging that they're falling in love with each other. No, no, Kanae corrected herself. They're all actors. The title co-star killer is a title that's considered an honor because it means that you can get the person you're acting opposite to react the way they're supposed to. That whole stupid falling in love thing was just some weird misconception by people who are not in their craft and would never understand the real meaning. Hell, even she would kill for a title like that.

Maybe... Kanae thought as she stepped out of the restroom. Something happened to them during their location shoot. Well, there was a kiss scene. But there's got to be more than that since Kyoko is literally the very foundation of the Love Me Section.

...unless of course, there's something seriously awfully lethal on that's guys mouth that made her act like that around him. Kanae shuddered at the thought and hoped that the script for the Ogata movie wouldn't have a kiss scene.

"Here you go..." Kyoko's cheerful voice echoed through the empty restaurant.

"I think you have it the other way around," Tsuruga-san said.

"Huh?"

"My slice has more strawberries in them," Tsuruga-san pointed out. "Don't you want this slice instead?"

"It's OK," she answered. "Since you don't like sweets that much anyway, you might as well have the most fruit."

She heard Tsuruga-san say, "Mogami-san, there's something-"

But Kanae never got to hear what he had to say in that suspiciously soft voice because the front door of the restaurant opened and the old couple that ran the place entered.

"Kyoko-chan!" the okami-san exclaimed cheerfully. "You're back! And Tsuruga-kun, it's a pleasure to see you back so soon!" Kanae stepped out of the small hallway and the okami-san turned to her. "Kanae-chan, you're here too!"

Well, she had to do it. The look on Taisho's face wouldn't have relaxed and she didn't think the old man could have taken on Tsuruga-san by sheer size alone, she thought as she greeted them with a smile.

"Welcome back!" Kyoko stood up and bowed, Tsuruga-san following suit. "I didn't expect the two of you to be back so late."

"Well... my husband and his cousins had a lot to drink," the okami-san looked at the taisho. "It took me forever to sober him up." She studied Kyoko and remarked, "You look fine. I think you must have had a lot of fun in Hong Kong."

"I did," Kyoko enthusiastically answered. "Well... we were just about to have tea and dessert. Would you like to join us?"

"That would be lovely," the okami-san answered happily. "Wouldn't it, dear?"

"Great!" Kyoko excitedly exclaimed, not waiting for Taisho's agreement. "I'll get some more plates and cups. Ah...! I still have to boil more water for the tea."

"I'll help!" Kanae volunteered as she pulled Kyoko into the kitchen before anyone had anything more to say about it.

Kanae was setting more plates and utensils on the counter when she turned to her. "Kyoko... Did something happen with you and Tsuruga-san in Hong Kong?"

Kyoko switched on the stove and looked at her quizzically. "Huh? Yeah... Lots of things."

"Like what?"

"Well..." Kyoko put her finger to her cheek as she thought back, tapping her cheek as she itemized, "There's the kiss scene. Then the dinner with Kuu Hizuri and his wife. Then..."

Kanae raised an eyebrow while she ended up standing still like one of those robots you insert 200 yen in to make them move. "Then...?"

Her eyebrows furrowed and she worriedly said, "I can't tell you. Can you just pretend I didn't say anything?"

"What do you mean 'pretend I didn't say anything'?" Kanae stomped her foot, still trying to keep her voice low. With the way Kyoko said it, it was kind of hard to ignore now. "Are you keeping secrets from me now? Mo...!"

All the worst possible images paraded into her head. She couldn't help it! Tsuruga-san is an adult - a very sought-after one - who had already gone to the extent of sexually harassing her friend on the second week of shooting and he just had a kiss scene with her. Well, not just that. There were also the random signals that said he was interested in Kyoko that sprouted up every once in a while. Of course, knowing Kyoko's love-phobic ways, he might have given up and just settled on trying to steal her position as Kyoko's number one friend. But if Kyoko's in love with him as well, it would make sense that it's Tsuruga-san, the man rumored to have melted the hearts of countless women in Japan, to be the one to break that hard head of hers.

Unless Kyoko is that much of a lost cause.

It's just so annoying that it had to be someone like Tsuruga-san.

"It's not that I want to keep anything from you, Moko-san," Kyoko answered nervously. "It's just not my secret to tell. It's his. Please don't make me break my promise to him."

"Oh," Kanae stopped being annoyed. Well, she could understand that. Although why confide in her best friend? Couldn't he find his own best friend? "Well..." she answered. "As long as it's nothing awful. Whatever it is, put it at the back of your mind. Otherwise, people might think you're in love with him."

* * *

"Huh?" Kyoko looked up at Kanae quizzically.

"Your face," Moko-san pointedly said. "You have a weird face when you look at him. Like you were remembering something that happened between the two of you."

Kyoko's eyes widened and she swallowed nervously.

It was that obvious?

Tsuruga-san is Corn and Kuon. Every time she saw him, she remembered all the attributes that otou-san had elaborated on for her sake. When she watched him act, she became a proud childhood friend, marveling at how Corn has become able to fly freely away from his father's reputation. Even during dinner, she kept remembering his childhood food trauma when he was 5-6 years old.

"That's..." she hesitantly answered. Knowing what she knew now, she just can't help that, can she? Obviously, Tsuruga-san had so much more discipline than she did. He never made a fuss when he figured out she was the girl he played with in Kyoto.

"That's what?" Moko-san raised an eyebrow.

Kyoko took a deep breath to keep herself from freaking out. They'd been talking in really low tones because there are only curtains that separated the kitchen from the dining area. "That's just silly," she said. "Tsuruga-san hasn't treated me any differently."

"But..."

"Besides," Kyoko continued, not even noticing that Moko-san had said anything. "Tsuruga-san is in love with someone, but he's not doing anything about it because the girl's still in high school." And he has some life issues, but she can't tell Moko-san that because that would open up the topic of the secret she's keeping for Tsuruga-san all over again.

Moko-san just stared at her before she asked in an exasperated tone, "And you never even stopped to think about who this girl is?"

Kyoko looked up at her in confusion. How did the conversation steer towards this direction? "Should I?" she asked. "That's the only thing he's ever told me about the girl he's in love with and there are 10 million high school girls in Tokyo. It's really none of my business since it's his private life." Actually, she's a little curious about it now. That girl has to be truly princess-like to be worthy of her fairy prince Corn.

The tea kettle whistled and she moved to turn off the stove. "Anyway, thank you for telling me about it. It would be weird if other people noticed it. I'll try to curb it every time I remember," she said as she poured the hot water into a pot. "It's not that unusual, but it would be really embarrassing if people misconstrue it as some cliché kouhai-falling-in-love-with-a-senpai kind of thing."

"It's not that..."

"Then what?"

Moko-san paused then finally said, "Never mind... It's not my problem."

"Then, shall we go?" Kyoko enthusiastically asked as she raised the tray. "Taisho might really need his tea now."

Her friend nodded as they made their way back.

Whatever warmth and happiness she felt for Tsuruga-san were only brought about the overwhelming memories of the past for her fairy prince she had so much affection for. That and the addiction she's starting to develop to her character were truly frightening. She was in danger of seeing those things in Tsuruga-san, she thought as Moko-san held out the curtain for her and her glance landed on Tsuruga-san.

"Oi..." Moko-san muttered. "Your face again."

* * *

"So?" Yashiro-san excitedly asked early the next morning as soon as he and Ren were alone inside the elevator. They were heading for the Acting Section to talk to Matsushima-san about changes in his long-term schedule. "Did you have fun? What did Kyoko-chan cook?"

Ren let out as small laugh at the memory. "Dinner was excellent. It was really delicious. You should have come along."

"Eh?" Yashiro-san teasingly goaded with a wide grin. "Why would I have wanted to interrupt your date?"

"So Kotonami-san and the old couple Mogami-san lives with wouldn't have looked at me as though I was there to steal the dinnerware."

"Koto... na... mi...?" his manager's grin slowly faded. "Why were they there?"

The elevator opened on their floor and they stepped out.

To any normal man, last night was a date from hell. Having the best friend and the surrogate parents of Mogami-san there wasn't exactly hell. If he wasn't aware those things were some important memories she missed out on as a child, he would have been scared off. So in a way, he was happy for her. But it was perfectly clear that, whatever the reason, Mogami-san was surrounded by overly possessive people who wanted her for themselves and were very unwilling to share. He wondered if he was the same too.

Ren opened the door to the Acting Section and a hearty laugh stopped them. The three Love Me girls were there in their bright pink uniform. Mogami-san and Kotonami-san carrying paper bags, which he was familiar with as new mobile phones. Since they were debuting, they were probably receiving the ones which restricted their caller IDs. Ren made a mental note to get Mogami-san's number.

"This isn't a laughing matter, Amamiya-kun..."

"S-sorry," Amamiya-san apologized without sounding sorry at all. "It's just too funny."

"Don't worry, Moko-san," Mogami-san patted her friend's shoulder. "As someone who has actual experience in the gossip columns, all you need to do is to suck it up and not have too much of a reaction so the press might not think to make a big deal out of it."

"Mo!" Kotonami-san cried out despairingly. "Have you ever been screamed at by a 12-year old?"

"What... is going on?" Yashiro-san asked, announcing their presence.

"Ah..." Matsushima-san looked at him with a deadpan, disapproving look. Kotonami-san turned and glowered at him. Mogami-san and Amamiya-san snickered. "Here is the man of the hour. The single man who is starting to develop a rather annoying reputation of randomly dating co-stars past, present and future, taking them out to places like the restaurant Mogami-kun lives at, only to be put on gossip columns and blogs." He was holding up a picture print-out of him and Kotonami-san last night at two in the morning after he volunteered to take her home since it had been so late.

"Eh?" Ren looked at them in wonder.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- Time service is a kind of promotion in Japanese stores, mostly groceries, where they offer a 'for a limited time only' or 'while supplies last' sale on various items. Most of them are things that are considered high-end stuff. Kobe beef, a specific kind of tuna, and strawberries are awfully pricey in Japan.

- I did say that this is supposed to be a fluffy chapter. However, writing it, I discovered that I am simply incapable of writing fluff. So I just maximized the chapter and merged Kyoko and Ren's dinner with Kanae's observant nature. I was seriously blanching while writing the fluff so I just changed it. I was really worried to since I did promise fluff. Then I realized... what was I so worried about? My fanfic's genre is "humor" not "romance". So I wasn't exactly lying XD Also, I have written too many filleresque chapters for this fanfic so I'm gonna stop and just start winding the story for an end. (Projected: Chapter 30)

- I'm going to be a little slower when it comes to the updates. Don't worry... the end is near. I could see the horizon, laugh and laugh some more. Only 7 chapters left.

- Reviews are appreciated but not expected. Although, I would love to hear from everyone. Next Chapter: ...Sho!


	24. Chapter 24: Ren's New Job

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**Acknowledgments:** Runadaemon for beta-reading.

**Disclaimers apply.**

**

* * *

**

"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable…"

"Damn it! Fine! I don't care!" Sho cried out, shutting off his phone and positioned himself to throw his phone against the wall. Then he suddenly remembered that he needed it for work and settled for leaning against the couch as he tapped the phone against his chin.

He's been trying to get a hold of Kyoko for two days now, but without success. Typical… just when something important actually happens, she won't take his calls. This girl was supposed to be a professional? She didn't even have her voicemail box on.

Sho seriously needed to talk to her. If she wanted that precious little wholesome image of hers to stay that way, he had to get a hold of her. he let out a breath of air. He can't even believe that he's going out of his way for that. But even that pathetic, uncool, pillow-carrying Tsuruga can't help her out of this one…

It happened Friday. Sho had just finished playing for a sold out concert and was heading for the back entrance where Shoko-san was waiting for him in the car.

"Fuwa-san…" a guy with a press pass came up to him.

"Sorry, dude," he apologetically answered, half-disappointed that he was going to miss out on a press opportunity. "I'm really tired and it's really late. Could you just schedule it through my agency?"

"This won't take very long," the guy said. Before Sho could give another polite answer, the guy announced, "I'm from Boost Maga-"

"Boost, huh?" Whatever graciousness Sho had in him has dissolved. This was the bastard that'd been writing about him being dumped by Kyoko. Now he was really losing his temper.

"Yes, I'm actually writing a follow-up article about Kyoko-san," the reporter said. "Since very little is known about her as an unknown newbie and her public profile stating that she hails from Kyoto…"

The words 'Kyoto' filled Sho with dread.

"Our readers would like to know…" the guy asked maliciously. "Why Fuwa Shotaro and Mogami Kyoko who ran away to Tokyo together would be on such bad terms now. What happened in the months before your debuts?"

It was already Monday morning. He was running out of time. In two weeks, the monthly will publish that article and if nothing can be done about it now, their secret will be out. It looked like he was going to have to rely on his agency's power just to reach her. Their careers were on the line.

"Sho!" Shoko-san called as she entered the room. "Are you ready? We need to be in Queen Records in an hour and a half."

Resenting the fact that he could accomplish things by himself, he turned to his manager. "Shoko-san…" he started.

He told her everything that happened that night and Shoko-san's eyes started to widen. And for the first time ever, Shoko-san looked absolutely livid. "Fuwa Sho, you idiot! Why did you only tell me this now?"

* * *

"That was rather excellent," Director Date Hirotaka remarked. "I like what you've been able to accomplish in the short period of time you were given to prepare."

Ren gave a short nod and smiled. "It was no problem at all – given the excellent material I had to work with." Out of the corner of his eye, Ren saw Yashiro-san relax against his chair.

Today, he had to present to the world-renowned Director Date Hirotaka the role he was offered while he was still shooting in Hong Kong. He spent all the free time he had between shoots for Armandy's latest season collection over the weekend studying for the role. However, up to the time he and Yashiro-san were driving to LME, his manager has been tense like a tightly-coiled spring. He tried not to show it though, which Ren appreciated since he himself was a bundle of nerves. Not because he didn't have faith in his abilities. It was just different auditioning to work for a famous director.

"And he's not shy or modest about his abilities either," Director Date turned to President Takarada, who arranged for the meeting. "This is going to be like working with another Hozu Shuu- no, Kuu Hizuri all over again." The director met Ren's wide-eyed stare. "And this is just an audition. Do you like eating too?"

"Only as much as I need to," Ren answered politely.

Director Date laughed and said, "Then I have much higher expectations from you. If you keep up this level of performance, I do not think I will be disappointed."

"It's an honor to receive such high compliments form you, Director," Ren answered simply, trying his best to hide the elation of being acknowledged to such an extent with a short ten-minute presentation. And that, coming from a director known all over the world who is not so free handing out compliments.

"You deserve it," the director brushed his hand. "I know you'd do well when I saw how you portrayed Katsuki in Dark Moon. Now I understand why Hiroaki has been pushing me to take you on. I already knew that you're a talented actor, but I didn't realize that this role would be perfect for you until I saw that serial killer movie of yours." Then he turned somber. "However, I am concerned about you taking on a role like this…"

Ren blinked at the man. What else could he have reservations about? He would adjust just as he always had.

"From what I know, you are considered as the Top Celebrity here in Japan," the director continued. "With taking on this role, there are certain sacrifices you have to make in order to accommodate it. Your image was somewhat hardened by that serial killer you played before, but this role may not make you any more popular," Then he looked him in the eye. "But I can guarantee… if you do well, the rewards can be fruitful if you play your cards right."

"Yes, I understand," Ren said with determination. To work with someone like Director Date, he'll do whatever it takes. "I will give this role my all."

"I will be counting on you then," Director Date extended his hand to Ren and smiled.

"Great!" Director Date smiled. "By the way," he added. "Casting for this movie is not yet complete. I still have to sit through a few auditions for several more roles. I am hoping you'll be available for the press conference for the formal announcement."

"I am sure I can work my schedule around," Ren turned to Yashiro-san.

"I'll wait for the date and I'll work out your schedule," Yashiro-san answered.

"Wonderful!" Director Date grinned. "Anyway…" he sighed. "I have another movie I'm working on to get back to. This was actually a side trip for me. I came here for a relative's birthday." He stared Ren in the eye and said, "I will see you very soon."

"So will I," Ren answered.

Director Date and his assistants excused themselves. Ren and Yashiro-san also excused themselves as well. They had a plane to catch to Yokohama for the drama he was working on. The President mentioned something about getting ready for his salsa lessons – Ren wondered what he needed to get ready for when he was already dressed.

As they walked towards the elevator, Yashiro-san cautiously turned to him. "Ren… about this role…"

"Hmm?" Ren raised an eyebrow. "What about it?" He wondered if Yashiro-san was worried he'll drop to the another breaking point like he almost did when he played BJ. The first role as a villain really took its toll on him, but he got over it the best he could. With that role, he learned many things about himself, including that he can act coldblooded and villainous.

"Are you… going to tell Kyoko-chan about this?"

He thought wrong. "Why should I?" he asked slowly.

"'Why should I?'" Yashiro-san repeated. "Ren, you're-"

"Yashiro-san, there's no reason to tell her," Ren said calmly. "You heard what Director Date said. Everything has to be kept under wraps until the announcement."

"Ren, th-this isn't just anybody we're talking about!" Yashiro-san exclaimed in exasperation. "It's Kyoko-chan! Are you trying to tell me that she's going to be treated just like everybody else?"

Ren paused. "Yes," he answered. For now. But that will change when Kismet comes back from its break and they see each other on set on Wednesday.

He was getting impatient, he admitted to himself. He'd been impatient for a long time already.

After overcoming things that would have easily scared her away, they only proved to be milestones in his relationship with her. On the things where he expected her to be chased away, she stood by him and understood him. No matter how wrong the timing was in reason and the present situation, he thought maybe it wouldn't be such a stretch to assert himself. He was planning to do that on the evening of the dinner at the Daruma-ya, but he wasn't able to because of the presence of Kotonami-san and the couple that Mogami-san lived with.

"She might be disappointed, you know," Yashiro-san remarked. "Especially since when it comes to you, you always ask for the whole truth."

"You're underestimating her professionalism," Ren answered. "This is work-related to a project that doesn't involve her. She would understand the secrecy." It wasn't like the time back in Dark Moon, where she was part of the main cast and she became upset for not being told about his acting test for Katsuki.

"It's not like I'm underestimating her or anything…" Yashiro-san uncomfortably reasoned. "But it's still different. You see, Ren… when a person is important to you, you tell that person things."

And he would. Just because he got this role, he wouldn't be deterred from his half-baked plans where Mogami-san was concerned. The way the two of them are right now, it's difficult. The idea that he can't have a happily ever after with her flew away a long time ago.

* * *

"That was great, Nacchan," Box "R" Director Annaka announced through the speakers. "You're wrapped for the day!"

Natsu let out a tired breath and took off her headphones. Her day for Box "R" was complete.

She stepped out of the recording booth and, being the professional she was, gave the director a casual bow to pay her respectrs. "Thank you for accommodating my sudden change in schedule. Sorry for all the trouble."

"Nah…" Director Annaka cheerfully waved his hand. "This kind of thing happens all the time. It's not that unusual for actors to have quick, sudden changes in their schedules because of work. Rumi-chan has the same problem lots of times too. Besides, your agency contacted us last weekend. It's just good that one of the assistants was able to pull some strings and we got a free recording booth here in Queen Records." Then he smiled. "But you did great work today. The monologue and the voice over were great. It will really gave the episode more depth."

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly at the compliment.

The assistant director entered the room and announced, "Director, Rumi-chan just arrived. I just got a call from ther manager saying that they're at the lobby and on their way up."

"Then…" She cut their conversation short. "I will be going back to my agency now."

"OK," Director Annaka grinned at her. "We'll see you back this weekend."

She grabbed her things and started exorcising Natsu out as she stepped out into the hallway.

Several people that loitered in the hallways from the other recording units turned their heads as she passed, but she hardly noticed since there were several things on her mind.

Only a few more days before she's see Tsu- before she was due back on the Kismet set, she corrected as she waited for the elevator to come.

She sighed. She had to admit it to herself now. Tsuruga-san has become a primary motivator for her in the movie. She always liked being around him, and liked it more so now that she knew his secrets. Well, a bit because of his secrets, but mostly because of how those secrets have influenced her. Probably because he was Corn with really dark hair.

It wasn't like she was short on activity during the week long break from Kismet. She had the drama, school, publicity to do for the movie and her other work, meetings for new roles she was taking, trainings for them. She missed him too. After all, out all the things she was doing, she thought as she entered the elevator, being on set and being around Tsuruga-san's Satoshi were the closest things she had as stepping stones in helping her recover what she lost a long time ago.

As the elevator zoomed down, she checked her watch. A little over eight. She was supposed to be heading home, but Sawara-san and Matsushima-san asked her to pass by LME for a quick meeting that can't wait another day.

She stepped out of the elevator and turned towards the side entrance where a car was waiting for her to take her back to LME.

"There she is!" a familiar voice called out from behind her. "Get her, Sho!"

She turned and saw Shotaro stalking towards her in quick, long strides, his face set.

Natsu's soul, who was just about out, quickly returned. And, rather than running away as she would normally do, she turned around and met Shotaro's eyes just when he was about an arm's length away and started to reach for her. Without moving anything other than her right arm, she blocked his hand with her forearm and flicked it away.

The stunned look on his face did little to satisfy her so she lifted her booted foot and stomped on his. Hard. The pained look on his gave her a small smile on her face, Natsu, after all, finds amusment in the pain of others. Actually inflicting it on someone she truly, truly hated was very, very enjoyable.

"That hurts!" Sho cried out as he slumped, resting his hands in his knees.

"Oh, be a man and get over it," she condescendingly ordered. "What else would you have expected from attacking defenseless women in isolated hallways?"

He flinched, stood up and faced her. "Just what the hell was so defenseless about what you just did?" he shouted like a child to her face.

"Call it protective instinct," she said with a bored tone as she crossed her arms and tilted to the side. "What?" She let out a humorless giggle at his dumbfounded expression. "Do you think that if I cried, someone is going to come rescue me?"

"I am trying to rescue you, idiot!" Shotaro continued his immature outburst. "I've been trying to call you since Friday! How convenient that you always had your phone and voicemail off! How do you work like this? You don't even have a manager!"

Her bored expression gave in to slight amusement. "If you breathed out fire, this would be a comedy routine." She flipped her head. "But if you're talking about that old number," she said coolly. She flicked her hand and announced, "It was changed." She narrowed her eyes. "You really didn't expect a personal message to have it known to you that I changed it, did you?"

Shotaro's face just stared at her with a dumbfounded, idiotic expression.

"Well…" she continued. "I guess we have nothing to say to each other then. I don't know about you, but I still have work." She adjusted her bag and turned her head to him with a smirk. "I heard gossip that the Beagle guy is in the hospital. Good boy," she patted his shoulder patronizingly. "You know when you're useful."

"Wai-" He was just about to grab her hand but she was able to nimbly step out of his reach.

"Oh, no you don't," she said, grinning mean-spiritedly. "There's just no way you're going to get a treat for just that. You only entertained me a little."

"You…" Shotaro simply stared at her.

She didn't answer and walked through the door and got in the car that waited for her.

She managed to calm down inside the car and get Natsu out of her system. After that, Kyoko started smiling happily as she stared out at the gasoline pump, looking at the running numbers as points she achieved for how she handled her encounter with Shotaro. Elated that she managed to get her point across to Shotaro that actually got him to shut him up for once. Things are definitely going her way.

Matsushima-san and Sawara-san were waiting for her in the ground floor lobby. She was just about to happily greet them when she stopped and let out a strangled cry when she saw Shotaro and Shoko-san standing there.

* * *

They settled in a café called L.A. Hearts at the lobby of LME.

They are competition after all. Sho doubted that he'll ever see what's on the upper floors. Not that he was even interested. As far as he can tell, the place was just as impressive as his own agency. Anyway, the place was empty. It was a little after dinnertime already so whatever employees the place hosted had either gone back to work or home.

"Excuse me…" Kyoko said with a scary face to the two old geezers who were supposed to be her superiors that were seated on her side of the table. "The last meal I had was lunch. It being almost nine, will it be OK if I eat something while we have the meeting?"

"Go on, Mogami-kun," the weird-looking moustache guy nodded at her. Sawara Takenori-san, Sho read from the business card he was handed earlier, which he set on the table in front of him.

Sho watched as Kyoko grabbed her bag and started rummaging through it while a server laid down coffee in front of them.

She really didn't mean that she'd actually brought her own food – or actually took the packed lunches they prepared on sets of wherever she came from, Sho thought wryly. That commoner attitude of hers never changed.

But it was strange, Sho stared at her suspiciously across the table. What happened to that sexy, elegant girl he saw earlier in Queen Records? It wasn't like the Kyoko he knew. The Kyoko he knew moved with her expressive face and with her whole body. The girl he encountered at Queen Records only gave him a slightly amused face and didn't move unless necessary. He couldn't even stir her up even when he was frantic and shouting.

It might have been for a role, but she was at the floors where the recording studios were, not where the filming studios were. But as soon as she stepped out of the car that her agency provided for her, she was already the same annoying Kyoko he knew. She's weird, Sho thought. Changing from one person to another even without an audience on her.

With a smirk on her face, she pulled out something that made Sho's eyes widen.

Damn this girl, Sho gritted her teeth. The shape… the color… the subtle scent when she opened the little container that made his mouth water… and the blissful look on her face when she took her first bite. No mistake…. That was…

"Is that all you're eating, Mogami-kun?" Sawara-san asked disapprovingly. "Pudding is hardly a suitable dinner. Don't tell me you're still dieting. That's not even something you're supposed to eat when you're on a diet."

She turned to the man and smiled, playing with the teaspoon on her mouth. "I just remembered that I was promised a really nice dinner when I get home. I thought I'll just have this to sustain me until then," she answered. "This was actually provided for in the Box "R" recording so it would have been such a waste if I didn't eat it since it's such a special brand. It is Kurigo Pucchin Pudding, after all."

"What on earth are you talking about?" the guy with the slicked back hair asked dryly. Matsushima, he read on the other card, but quickly turned to the pudding so he didn't bother with the first name. "You can get that at any corner convenience store."

"I guess," she smiled. "But it's still very yummy." Then with a surprised looked on her face, she turned to him. "Oh, how impolite of me…" She held out the scrumptious plastic container to him and cheerfully asked, "Would you like some, Fuwacchi?"

She was baiting him. Sho glared at her darkly. Stupid Kyoko…

"Mogami-kun," Sawara-san scolded her lightly. "That's actually bad manners. You don't offer food from you own plate to someone else. I certainly hope you don't do this habitually to other people."

"You're right," Kyoko apologized contritely, withdrawing her hand and continued to eat from her cup. "I'm sorry. I don't think Fuwacchi would even want to eat something this common."

"Ahem…" Matsushima-san said. "I think we should start this meeting since it's getting a little late." He turned to them and asked, "Why did you call for this meeting? People in your agency said that it had something to do with Mogami-kun and Fuwa-san."

Shoko-san looked between him and Kyoko, shook her head and sighed. "We have been trying to keep this under wraps with as little people knowing as possible." Before changing her demeanor to professional and business-like. "Last weekend, Sho was approached by a reporter from Boost asking him about his relationship with Kyoko-chan."

"That's right," Matsushima-san nodded. "It's only natural since they also released gossip about them being together. I think our agencies did proper PR for that."

What the hell? Sho annoyingly thought. All their agency did was release some polite statement declining anything about Tsuruga and Kyoko. After that, some more Tsuruga and Kyoko crap on the magazines which they never bothered to deny.

"That's true," Shoko-san nodded. "However, this man actually went to Kyoto to dig up a story on her. Then he found out that Sho was from there too and that the two of them are childhood friends."

"Fuwa-san is your childhood friend?" Sawara-san turned to Kyoko in surprise.

"I guess you can use that term to keeps things simple," Kyoko answered darkly as she raised her eyebrow and her eye twitched. Something dark was leaking out of her. "However," she said in an ominous voice. "If you want to the proper term for it, it'll take three days and three nights to explain, divided up into arcs: Kyoto, Tokyo and the Present." She turned to the two men. "Still interested?"

"N-n-no..."

"Kyoko-chan," Shoko-san gently interrupted and Kyoko instantly changed back to the normal Kyoko. "The Boost Guy actually got information about you and Sho as children."

"Yeah," Sho smirked. "Like how you were a plain and boring woman."

"It's not something to be proud of, but it's nothing to be ashamed of either!" Kyoko fired back, her shoulders shaking. "People get makeovers all the time."

"You were boring?" The two men turned to Kyoko dubiously, looking as though they wished for it.

"Did you ask for your money back?" Sho raised an eyebrow. "Apart from making you unrecognizable, it didn't really do anything else for you."

"Shut up!" Kyoko angrily cried out. "Who's fault do you think it was I haven't been able to take care of myself?"

"Nobody asked you not to do that," he countered.

"Oh yeah? Who worked several part time jobs to have leftovers just for your stupid pudding, Fuwa Shota-"

Reflexively, Sho stood up and nearly climbed on the table to slap his hand over her mouth. "Watch your mouth, Princess Cin-"

She let out a frustrated cry of outrage as she stood up and slapped his hand away, her arms flailing. "Get your hand off me!" she cried out. "I don't know what they could have on me! Apart from knowing you, the most embarrassing thing I did in Kyoto was get an 85 on a math test!" Something actually held Sho back. It felt like weird steel bands on his arms.

"An 85 is nothing to be embarrassed about…" Sho heard someone comment.

This was definitely the Kyoko he knew, he thought with gritted teeth. She was the same: animated to the point of annoying… They were exchanging heated glares when someone asked, "You two…" They turned and saw Shoko-san and the two men looking at him with bewildered looks. "Are you sure you two never went out?" Sawara-san finished.

"No!" they cried out in unison. "We never went out!"

"Because the two of you act like an old married couple," Matsushima-san commented.

"No!" they cried out again. "Definitely not!"

"They're always like that whenever they see each other," Shoko-san shook her head.

"Anyway," Kyoko answered angrily as she crossed her arms and sat right back down on her chair. "They can publish whatever they want for all I care!"

Sho snarled and ordered her, "You should really let Shoko-san finish what she's saying before you decide, you know."

"Y-yes," Sawara-san stuttered through a tone of calm, looking at Kyoko with a disapproving look on his face. "Let's continue."

"A-as I was saying," Shoko-san continued, looking at him with embarrassment for Sho's conduct. She paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "What the Boost guy was really interested in was not Kyoto since we think that they got enough data on that…" She turned to Kyoko and said, "Kyoko-chan, what the guy asked Sho about was what happened in the months when you two were living together here in Tokyo. Before either of you debuted."

"And…?" Kyoko asked in a disinterested tone, not even noticing the scandalized look on the two men's faces. "What?" She glared at him. "You're just probably afraid that people will finally realize that you throw people who helped and supported you all the way out like waste paper after you got famous?"

"You were living together?" Sawara-san's face fell.

"I wouldn't worry about it though," she continued, smiling patronizingly. "In two… three years time, they'll forget about it and you can try to make a come back, Shotaro."

"Idiot Princess Rose," he slammed the table with his hand. "I didn't tell that reporter a damn thing about that time. But you look like you don't even understand the pinch we're in right now."

"What pinch?" Kyoko fired back. "You're the only one who looks worried."

"You should be too, you know!" Sho barked. He pointed at the two men and announced, "They look worried too! Because of some guy who got too many 100s in his creative writing class, they could publish the most scandalous piece of garbage about the two of us that two or three years won't be enough for us to recover from."

He watched as Kyoko's expressive eyes dissolved from her anger to realization. Her eyes turned as wide as saucers.

Satisfied that he finally made a point that she listened so, he slumped back on his chair and said, "Oh, NOW you get it."

* * *

Takenori stepped back into L.A. Hearts after he and Matsushima-kun escorted Aki-san and Fuwa-san out after the meeting. He spotted Mogami-kun still at the same seat as she clamped her phone shut and placed it on the table.

He asked the server to get them some tea while Matsushima-kun went up to the President's office to tell him about this turn of events. He said that he'll follow after he discussed things with Mogami-kun. He at least wanted to know some more information about this. It would be hard if there were any more surprises they didn't know about from this girl who was inappropriately called 'boring' by Fuwa-san.

But even after the server set the tea on the table, he was still thinking of how to begin the conversation. He lifted his teacup and swirled it around. The first thing that came to mind was the question, "So you and Fuwa Sho lived together?"

Mogami-kun took her time in answering. "When we were children, yes. My mother would always leave me with his parents whenever she was away for work. And she was away a lot." Then with a dragging sigh, she continued, "But if you're talking about Tokyo, we shared an apartment. I don't think it will be traced though. Only my name was on the lease, but no one can vouch that he lived there. We never socialized with our neighbors because it was inappropriate that it's just us living together so he just sneaked in and out of the apartment."

"Please don't tell me you two ran away, secretly got married and are now divorced," he pleaded.

"No," she shook her head. "It was less than that." Her eyes started to cloud.

"Then he was your boyfriend."

"Less." Her eyes dimmed.

"So the two of you are really nothing more than childhood friends?"

Takenori wished he never asked the question. Seeing the pained expression on her face for a second time around was more than he could take. "Less," she answered with a voice thick with emotion. There was no more light or life in her eyes.

He got her into LME through the just-conceived Love Me Section the first time. He didn't really know if there was anything he could do for her now.

Apparently, Fuwa Sho was the cause of the pain he was seeing now. That idiot musician did something awful to someone he was very close to. Close enough that he knew two of the stage names that Mogami-kun wanted to have before she started to work and that they can speak in unison with perfectly coordinated pitches. And here he always thought that it's been for some kind of frivolous fangirl obsession.

But… the President was right. Again, he thought in retrospect. There was a deeper meaning to why she joined the agency that rivaled Fuwa Sho's… And it was so simple too.

Mogami-kun, Takenori concluded with a nod, wanted to kill him.

Red flags waved and warning alarm bells sounded off in his head as his eyes popped wide open.

No, no, no… He tried to shake the thought out of his head. Mogami-kun was a weirdo, but she's not the murdering type. Was she? After all, she stalked him for five days and five nights just so he would give her a pass for the audition. And she was very handy with a knife. Perhaps, he mistook her enthusiasm for that PV when it was actually bloodthirstiness. Horrified he thought, that could have been the reason why she keeps getting kicked out of TBM Studios whenever Fuwa Sho was around!

No… he reasoned. She's become really popular with the directors and actors she worked with for her hard work and determination. That meant that she had grown past killing Fuwa Sho and put her blood lust into pursuing constructive art forms likes acting.

...Right?

"Sawara-san?"

He turned to her and saw a sweet face as she liftd her shoulders and let out a contrite smile.

"What will happen…" she began. "If I don't go along with the plan?"

Wryly, he asked, "Is that what Ren told you to do?" If Ren did, he would never believe it.

"Huh?" She gave him a confused look.

"Didn't you just talk to him?" He pointed at the phone on the table.

"No!" she sharply waved her hands and shook her head. "This is work-related but Tsuruga-san is not involved with it. Besides, he definitely won't take any calls. Not from anyone and especially not from me. He's still shooting for his drama in Yokohama."

Ah… good point. "Then who was that?" Takenori asked.

"Mo- Kotonami-san."

One weirdo talking and giving advice to another! If she was going to call someone unrelated to work to ask about it, she could have just tried Ren! They are very close and she always listened to him after all! A more mature person who is wise beyond his years was who she needed to talk to right now. Not the other person she always listened to who is only obsessed with acting and debuting.

"What did she tell you?" He had to have this girl programmed right if the plan was going to work.

"She told me to do it," she sighed resignedly. "If I can still debut, I should acknowledge Fuwa Sho as my childhood friend, play along with the plan and do everything to catch Boost off-guard. So, when they release their article two weeks from now, it would look like they're just cashing in and exploiting the fact because a lot of other gossip weeklies and dailies would have beaten them to it."

Takenori admitted defeat. He really has underestimated the girls.

"She's right," he answered. "If you don't go along with the plan and the story is the worst possible story they can think of, you'll become less of an actress because work might not flow in as abundantly as they are now. Besides," he smiled at her. "Don't you think it's time to let go of the past already? Don't you want to start your career off as an actress with a clear conscience?"

Mogami-kun paused and gave it a long thought.

Takenori didn't think she'd give him an answer. It must be a shock to the system to be confronted with a situation like this so suddenly. If she gave him answer, it would have been a half thought-of one.

He watched her suddenly look up at him, surprised, "Huh?"

"'Huh? What?"

"LME's still going to let me debut?" He gave her a quizzical look and she continued, "I just proved I'm not ready to leave the Love Me Section, didn't I? I still have personal hang-ups. Doesn't it bother you that I'm starting my career off as an actress dishonestly?"

Well… he can't exactly tell her that the President thought she was ready to be one of his messengers of love. He was as giddy as a little girl when Mogami-kun almost gave up her spot in exchange for Ren's, which was a stupid career move if he was to be asked.

"Why?" he asked her with a deadpan expression. "Didn't it bother you that you started your career as a talent off dishonestly?"

Kyoko swallowed.

"Besides, everyone has personal hang-ups," Takenori said. "I don't think the President would have anything against you for having such an unusual past." The President liked odd people after all. He thought they came out the most interesting. And he had a undeniable understanding of human nature.

And his assessment of the President was correct, when he later reported back to his office about the whole thing with Mogami-kun and Fuwa-san.

"So it's like that…" President Takarada sadly said after hearing everything about it. "No wonder she can bring out such emotions in her acting." He sighed and turned to him and Matsushima-kun. "The plan sounds really thorough. Let's just go along with it."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

- OK... before anything, I'm sorry for the long wait. Not sure though if anyone still cares about the story.

- **Cultural Notes: **In the Japanese business setting, it is customary to exchange business cards upon first meeting. You do not keep the cards in your wallet or your bag right away, you set it on the table in front of you in the same order as to how people are seated across the table from you. It is not impolite to reference to the cards if you can't remember the name, getting the name wrong is.

-** Canon Notes: **Boost is a monthly publication. So far, in the fanfic's timeline, only two weeks have passed since the first article came out. So another two weeks would be needed before the magazine with the Kyoko and Sho gossip come out.

-** Next Chapter**: The repercussions of keeping someone out in the dark. As always, reviews are appreciated by not expected. ^^/


	25. Chapter 25: Kyoko's Childhood Friend

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**Acknowledgments: **Runadaemon for beta-reading. Bloody_Rose021 and Ecki for your help-out and the approve ^^

**Dedications: **Bloody_Rose021, Ecki and Runadaemon - coming up with the last couple of chapters = hell because of you three.  
**  
Disclaimers always apply.**

**

* * *

**

"Hello?"

A wave of noise filtered through the earpiece of Kyoko's mobile phone that she pulled the device back a little from her ear. It was sounded very busy with people talking and laughing and a faint sound of music. Because she has been lying in bed in a very quiet room for the last two hours, the noise came as a big surprise.

"Hello?" The noise faded and muffled a bit.

"Hello? Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko put the phone back to her ear. She wasn't really expecting that he was going to answer. "Sorry… Am I interrupting you at work?"

"Mogami-san?" he asked with an incredulous voice. Then "No, it's OK," he answered. "Shooting ended an hour ago. Some of the guys from the shoot and I are at the hotel bar. And don't worry, I ate."

"That's good," she sighed.

"So what's up?" he asked. "You calling this late…"

This was her chance! She can tell him about the whole stupid Boost thing with Shotaro!

"Um…" she answered hurriedly. "There's something really important I want to ask you! It's been bothering me for the last couple of hours and-"

Wait a minute… She stopped mid-sentence. What would Tsuruga-san know? Up until two weeks ago, he had never been subjected to tabloid gossip. Ever. How could he understand? Tsuruga Ren didn't even exist until a few years ago. Digging up something about him would have to be the work of a demon because so many connections would have to be made before it could make sense. The fact had been literally shoved in her face before she made the connection. She hadn't even thought about that when she decided that she wanted to talk to him about it! Whatever had compelled her to do that?

This would be one of the very few things, she thought sadly, Tsuruga-san couldn't help her with…

"Um…" she hesitated. "Erm…"

"Mogami-san...?" his voice suddenly became flat and emotionless. "What are you thinking about?"

"A-an excuse," she answered honestly. The fingers of her free hand dug through her scalp. Why did she have to answer with honesty? She should have just made something up! she mentally scolded herself. Why was she so slow?

"For what?" His tone started becoming slow and deliberate.

"W-would you kill me if I told you I called you because of a frivolous whim?" she answered with a humorless laugh. She sounded a little too desperate, in her opinion.

However, she had to tell him something. She never got around to confirming it, but if it was true that he compressed all his work in Okinawa to get to Karuizawa before just because she called him up impulsively… Well, it's not it was likely to happen the second time around, but just in case. The drama he was shooting in Yokohama involved stunts and couldn't be rushed. It'd be dangerous – it wasn't like a fashion shoot when all he did was pose around for clothes. Plus, she already knew what she was up against and there are actually people who will be supporting her on it. She can't let herself be an inconvenience to him.

"A whim?" he asked shortly.

"Y-yeah…" she stammered. Her eyes darted aimlessly around her surroundings to think of something and they fell on an outrageously pretty and expensive dress Julie-san sent her on her last day in Hong Kong that hung on the wall. "The T.D.A.!" she answered frantically. "It won't be for another three weeks, but the President has been bugging me about it lately. He wants to know if there would be someone who'd escort me to the event." Well, President Takarada has been… So she wasn't completely lying.

"Huh?" His tone changed. Tsuruga-san sounded completely weirded out. "Escort you?"

"O-of course!" she answered as though he was questioning the absurd. "Who else would I ask…? You're practically responsible for helping me build Mio as a character. If you never helped me, I would have done Mio as Iizuka-san wanted me to and based my acting directly on how the script wrote it. This is my very first nomination for such an important role. So, it's only natural that I ask you…" Her voice lamed at the end.

There was a short pause. Kyoko bit her lower lip. He's probably thinking of the most polite way to turn her down. He really didn't need to extend her the courtesy. Just turn me down already, she mentally pleaded. That little speech she gave him sounded really pathetic and ridiculous because, one, it's not like she had a chance to win and, two, it wasn't like he wasn't going to be there. He has been nominated and has already been pegged a favorite to win after all.

"That was unexpected," he droned.

"Um…" she started uneasily.

He chuckled. Kyoko paused. "Of course, I'll escort you," he answered seemingly returning to his normal self. "I've been thinking about who I'd like to invite as well anyway."

Damn it! He accepted. "T-thank you," she answered. Why did the conversation turn out this way? She had more urgent things to think about than stupid things like this.

"No, it's great!" he replied. "Thank you for asking me."

"Ahehehe…" She scratched her head.

"Anyway," he suddenly said. "Shouldn't you be going to sleep already?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you mention before that you have that magazine interview early tomorrow morning for the Kismet promotion?" he asked.

"Yeah…" She did. "I've been thinking about that too."

"Don't worry about it," he said soothingly. "You're feeling worried about this being your first interview ever for a magazine. These kinds of things are usually done as puff pieces to promote the movie. And it's a great opportunity to promote yourself. I'm sure things will turn fine if you're keep everything straightforward and to the point. Of course, just make sure you don't give too much of yourself away. Otherwise, they'll pester you with question after question about a topic. Anyway, it's a magazine with a good reputation. Not all the publications are like the tabloids."

"OK," she smiled. Tsuruga-san was still giving her advice about work. "I'm sorry that I interrupted your drinking party. Please eat something while you're at it."

"Alright," he chuckled. After a pause, he said, "Good night, Mogami-san."

Amazing, Kyoko felt her body relax. After the long day she just had, it was more than welcome. "Good night, Corn…" Shoot! She slipped. "I mean…" she amended. "Good night, Tsuruga-san. …Sorry."

"It's alright," he answered.

They hung up on each other. And Kyoko got agitated. What the hell? She sat up and put her phone on the low table. She knew the secret a week and she's slipping?

She slapped her forehead. So what if his voice sounded calming? She still had to be conscious of herself! Tsuruga-san didn't work all these years to have it all fall apart because of a nosy girl who couldn't keep her eyes off his personal effects. She still had a few days for mental conditioning. After all, he has been acting as Tsuruga Ren all this time, she should be able to react on it. She had better things to think about like…

Oh crap, she frowned. Now she has a 'date', the actual term that the President used.

Well… she thought as she snuggled under her covers. It's not like he can't change his mind. After all, he did say that he was thinking about asking someone-

Shoot! Kyoko slapped her cheeks. Tsuruga-san might have been thinking about asking that girl! If someone like Tsuruga-san, who was known for keeping personal commitments after he's made them, would go with her… She might completely miss out on meeting and assessing the future bride of Tsuruga-shi a.k.a. future Mrs. Kuon Hizuri a.k.a. future princess of fairy prince Corn!

"Nooooo…" she howled loudly. "That would be terrible!" she cried out loud. Now that Tsuruga-san might be on the verge of breaking those chains that were binding him when it came to that girl, she definitely has to break that "date" the next time she sees him! "The princess might miss out on meeting with her prince and it will be all my fault!"

* * *

The okami-san's eyes popped wide open at the terrible howling of an animal in pain from the other room.

"Kyoko-chan's talking to someone who's not in the room again, dear," she turned to her husband who had the same wide-eyed surprised looked on his face. Then she chuckled. "You get used to it, but it's still scary."

* * *

Ren's spirits plummeted as he put his phone back into his pocket.

Mogami-san beat him to it. Again, he thought as he made his way back to the table where the rest of his cast mates in the drama were waiting for him. In addition to that, he really wanted to reiterate and make it clear to her that it was a date. Now, he wasn't so sure about it.

Well, there didn't seem to be anything cryptic about what she said. At first, he became suspicious because she called so suddenly and sounded kind of weird. He immediately thought something was wrong. Then she explained everything with such urgent honesty that it was almost funny.

It didn't make much of a difference who asked who. He was going to pick her up, escort her to the event, go to the same parties for Dark Moon and LME. It wasn't like he couldn't adjust. Being raised by a feminist like his father, he always believed girls can do anything they wanted. It was just different since he hasn't done anything for her yet.

Well… he thought optimistically. There is still that other thing that he had in mind when he got around to asking her. Knowing Mogami-san's interests, he knew that it would be something that she will really, really like.

He reached for his drink. That can wait until he goes back to Tokyo Wednesday morning for the Kismet shoot. He had enough excitement for one day and she needed to be up early the next day for that interview. The growing addiction to a role his parents taught him about a long time ago was coming back. Not that he never experienced it when he started working in Japan – there are lots of roles he became really sad about leaving. This was just somewhat more important and not merely rooted on wanting to play the role again.

The important thing is that she called him 'Corn' – er, that they were going to the T.D.A. together.

* * *

Unlucky has always been an attribute Kyoko associated herself with.

How timely that she will be making memories of her very first interview with a super exclusive magazine that only featured the Who's Who of the entertainment industry AND that it would be tainted with traces of Shotaro.

She's been sitting with the reporter, gauging the right way and time of injecting Shotaro as her childhood friend while keeping a cheerful disposition. She's already answered so many questions about her speedy rise in popularity, the roles that she had, her nomination on the T.D.A. and some questions about the movie. She was running out of openings. Sawara-san, who will be accompanying her later to the audition she'd been studying for all week after this and the morning show segment taping she had with The Hated One, was standing on the side.

"Kyoko-san…" the reporter cheerfully said.

"Yes?"

"I have to say… I'm very in with the love with the story of Kismet," she gushed. "As a girl, it's awfully easy to identify with it, I guess."

"Absolutely," Kyoko agreed. "The story is very well-rounded and balances a lot of issues like family tragedy, women's role in society, and suicide. It really has a lot of depth to it."

"Ye-yes," the reporter flustered. "But the central story would be about childhood friends Chiaki and Satoshi. Any girl can really identify herself with Chiaki. Right, Kyoko-san? Have you ever found yourself living in Chiaki's shoes?"

"Not at all!" Kyoko answered enthusiastically. "I never ran my own company before. Up until last year, I'm just a plain, old ordinary girl."

The reporter and the photographer stopped and stared at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sawara-san shake his head.

"Of course," Kyoko continued. "An in-depth understanding of the character and learning how she became the way she is is the key to portraying her well. So it was good that the character had such a strong background."

The reporter let out a hearty giggle. "Well… the love story between Chiaki and Satoshi really tugs a lot of heart strings since a lot of their issues come from misunderstandings and missed opportunities. I mean, what girl hasn't gone through that? Having strong feelings for a childhood friend I mean."

So… Kyoko thought, dismayed. This reporter was one of those types of people who were only interested in the love story aspect of the story. She probably didn't even care about the characters' development as people that actually becomes integral to how they would end up together.

Despite the straight face, Kyoko was struggling to temper down the demons inside of her. Even though she's mentally prepared for it, the taboo topic of her childhood and her childhood friend still grated on her. Image training in LME helped, but it still annoyed her. "I guess a lot of people would think that now and again."

"So you had one?"

"Huh?"

"A childhood friend you had strong feelings for?" the reporter smiled as though they were close friend, gossiping about mundane things like clothes, shopping and boys.

I've gotta hand it to her, Kyoko thought, thinking of the reporter as someone who is to be considered dangerous. The lady had skills for building rapport and creating leading questions. She almost blurted out that she did. Although, that 'strong feeling' was revenge.

Sawara-san mentioned something starting off her career as an actress with a clear conscience. She thought about it. Her conscience was clear. Of course, he meant the thing about Shotaro… But that's actually kinda easier said than done. IF she was ever going to forgive that idiot, it's going to take a long, long time. This might be a first step, but she wasn't certain. Forgiveness was not even a concept on how she dealt with her feelings for Shotaro until yesterday.

"Not that I was in love…" She answered. Admitting that would be in violation of the Tsuruga Ren rule: Giving away too much of yourself for public consumption. Besides, saying that might actually fan the flame of the worst-case scenario they thought of the Boost article. "I was pretty much a loner when I was a child. But of course, we all had a precious childhood friend…" Corn. "…or two." Shotaro.

Right… she figured it out. She wouldn't be so annoyed with the questioning and opening up an open wound if she thought about the other childhood friend who just made her happy thinking back.

"So can you tell me something a little about this childhood friend?"

This was the opening she was looking for, right? "Well…" she smiled as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "It's quite hard to talk about that person since he's also in the entertainment industry. It will feel kind of weird to be talking about it. It might even sound like name-dropping…"

"Ehhh?" the reporter asked, her eyes widening with interest. "Now that you let out that it's someone in the entertainment industry, you can't expect people to not want to know who…"

* * *

"You're late," Sho glanced at Kyoko as she entered the waiting area. She and Sawara-san when they arrived in the TV studio where Sho was scheduled to have an interview.

It was supposed to be a live broadcast, but Shoko-san and people in Akatoki had it changed yesterday to accommodate Kyoko's magazine interview earlier. It was going to be a taped interview for broadcast on tomorrow's episode. The producers of the morning show were more than willing to do that and tossed in a reserve feature on pottery in lieu at the promise that they could get Kyoko, the star of a highly-anticipated movie, in for an appearance.

It annoyed Sho that his appearance alone wasn't enough. Getting Kyoko is now a big deal to them now.

"Well, excuse me," Kyoko frowned up at him. "This wasn't even supposed to be on my morning schedule. I'm even amazed that you're not late. It's only ten in the morning. Shouldn't you still be getting dragged out of bed so you can be up by eleven?"

Sho ignored the question and nodded towards Sawara-san. "I see your agency had to send someone out to look after you," he snidely remarked.

"Quiet!" she shot back. "I'm headed for an audition after this and Sawara-san's coming along with me."

"Audition?" Sho smirked. "You supposed to be some big shot rising star, aren't you? And you're still auditioning for roles?"

"I think you shouldn't say anything about things you don't know about," Kyoko argued. "Anyway, why should you care? I don't think anything someone you tormented does should be of any importance to you."

Sho gritted his teeth and avoided her eyes. Tormented... That's how she saw what happened between them the previous Valentine's Day. And knowing how Kyoko gets once she gets an idea into her head, it's going to stay that way. Not that he cared. Much. To prove it, he crossed his arms and lifted his chin. "Of course it's something important. You're appearing with me, damn it. I should at least have some benefit to it like appearing with someone worthwhile."

"Yeah, yeah…" her eyes shrugged with nonchalance. "I'm just a useless cloth girl who you just happen to have been born near."

They were in public with a lot of people around. Sho had to control every fiber of his being to keep what was on the top of his head and what was in his feelings in tight check. "Anyway, how did the magazine interview go? Everything work out?"

"It went OK," she retorted. "Do you think I don't have the presence of mind to actually do it properly?"

"I didn't say that," Sho answered through a smile when he noticed one of the morning show's host walking towards them.

"Ah, Kyoko-san!" The show's host approached them. Kyoko greeted her politely. "You're here! We'll be shooting in half an hour. But you look like you're all ready." She looked at Kyoko and him. "Everything alright?"

"Y-yeah," Sho answered for her. Then he placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's just one of those things old friends argue about."

The host tilted her head. "Old friends? The two of you?"

"O-of course!" Kyoko answered cheerfully, but Sho could feel her shoulder was stiff under his hand. "Fuwacchi and I have known each other since we were babies. We grew up in the same town."

Sho noticed that the host's eye started twinkling in interested. "Oh…?" Then she smiled. "Oh!" Sho let out a breath of relief. At least once they were shooting, their charade wouldn't look so forced. He didn't think he had the capability to act to lead to that topic, especially with someone awfully unpredictable and rebellious like Kyoko. The mischief he saw in the girl's eye would make it look like she'll be the one to squeeze it out of them. "Well," she said. "This certainly is a small world."

"Very small," Sho answered with a smile.

"Too small," Kyoko finished.

"So it is," the TV host continued to smile. "No wonder the two of you act so familiar around each other." When one of the show's assistants motioned for her from the door, she excused herself politely but not before she commented, "Kyoko-san, you look really cute today."

Kyoko blinked in surprise. "Thank you," she shyly answered.

"That necklace…" she gestured towards Kyoko's neck. Sho looked down and saw a really expensive-looking stone set on an elaborate pendant hanging on Kyoko's neck by a delicate chain. "It's the one that you wear in Box 'R', isn't it?"

"Is that going to be a problem?" Kyoko politely asked. "I was told that this is not going to be a promo for any specific project I'm working on at the moment."

"No, no," she smiled. "Not a problem at all. I've just been such a fan of the show."

Coyly, Kyoko wrung her hands together. "Thank you."

When the host was out of sight, Sho narrowed his eyes and hissed, "What on earth? You're wearing a prop? I thought you can't foist stuff off a show until shooting's done until the last episode."

"What? It's not like it automatically activates Natsu anymore! I can do that even without it." She gave him a heated glare. Her hands protectively came up to the pendant. "Anyway, it's mine! I was the one who incorporated it into the show. This was given to me through magic!"

"Magic?" Sho raised an eyebrow and gave her a dry look. This girl hasn't changed nearly as much as he'd thought! "I certainly hope that you don't run around telling people that it magically appeared in your hand when you woke up. They'll think you're not right on the head!"

"Do I look stupid to you?" Kyoko shot back as she straightened up. Proudly, she declared, "Of course, it didn't magically appear in my hand! Idiot. This came inside a pretty present Tsurusa-san gav-"

"What?" Sho's eyes widened and he swiftly moved forward. He lifted his hand and grabbed the pendant. "Lemme see that again!"

"No!" she growled. She sharply turned to the side, her hands clutching the pendant as she stared at him.

Sho glared at her hard. Kyoko never accepted anything from anyone easily. Especially expensive-looking jewelry even if it had been given out of the kindness of someone's heart. Did that mean… he glared at her. …that she accepted whatever feelings that idiot Tsuruga gave her?

"And you accepted it!" Sho cried out accusingly pointing a finger at her.

"Well, it's kinda hard to turn it down you know," she retorted. "Would you ever refuse a miracle? Especially if it's something you wish so hard to be true."

A miracle? Sho started shaking. She calls Tsuruga falling in love with her a miracle? Could that be the reason why that guy didn't even appear fazed when he accidentally walked into the movie set at the Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel a couple of weeks ago? She never showed any inclination that she liked him apart from that disgusting senpai-kouhai relationship they have where he would always be the first person she would think about. That's was supposed to be his place!

Sho's temper flared and he suddenly had the impulse to rip that necklace from her neck and throw it out the window. They are at the twenty-something-th floor of a very tall building.

His hands lifted and he moved towards her.

Kyoko gritted her teeth and blocked his hands by gripping and intertwining her fingers against him and pushing him back with all the force she could muster. "Back off, Shotaro. Otherwise, I'll shout out 'Pervert!'"

"Oh, like anyone would believe you!" Sho answered back. "Like there's anything to grab."

Fire lit up in her eyes and she pushed back harder.

"Awesome…" one of the on-lookers staff commented as he and two more show staff members peeked through the waiting room area.

"It really is true that Fuwa-san and Kyoko-san are old friends," another commented.

"They're like children fighting over a swing in a playground."

Suddenly, Sho felt an arm grabbing him away and Kyoko was being pulled back by Sawara-san.

"Calm down," Shoko-san, who probably rushed in after she'd gone out to get a drink for him, hissed at him and Kyoko. "You two may not realize it, but you have an audience."

"She's right," Sawara-san muttered in a low tone as he let Kyoko go. "Have a little self-awareness, please."

Kyoko was breathing hard as she straightened up. Without another word, she put her index finger under her eye, pulled down and stuck out her tongue.

Wh-what a childish reaction! Not to be outdone, Sho did the exact same thing.

* * *

"I'll just have the car paged," Yukihito said as he and Ren stood early Wednesday morning in Haneda Airport after they disembarked the plane. "Just wait here."

"I'm thinking about getting something to drink while you're at it," Ren nodded towards the concessionary stand behind them. "Want anything?"

"Mmm… some tea, please," Yukihito answered before turning around to head for the customer service desk.

The shoot for Ren's drama in Yokohama went well. In fact, he seemed to be in very good spirits. Even though the shoot ended late last night, Ren looked very energized and eager to return to Tokyo this morning.

And why not? Yukihito grinned widely.

Today was the first day back at the Kismet shoot – meaning… Ren was going to see Kyoko–chan again. It's been a week – the longest time he'd been away from her since the movie shoot started. He's only acting cool, but he can't hide anything from his great manager!

He left the desk when the page was announced. The schedule between their arrival time and the call time for Kismet was tight. Instead of taking a cab, he had a car arranged to take them to the shoot. His eyes quickly looked around when Ren wasn't at the place where he left him. Thinking he was still in the concession stand, he entered the little kiosk and sure enough, found him standing by the counter.

Strange, Yukihito adjusted his glasses. He wasn't moving. He was simply standing there.

"Ren…" he gently called out. When he didn't answer, Yukihito stepped forward.

"…No way!" the host of a popular morning talk show cried out from the tiny TV on the counter. "Fuwa-san, you and Kyoko-san have actually known each other for a long time!"

As Fuwa Sho answered, Yukihito started reeling from the shock of what he was seeing and hearing. Kyoko-chan and Fuwa Sho were seated side by side on stools acting like really close friends. His eyes landed on the screen again and saw her playfully nudging his arm. Though it looked a little too hard since Fuwa Sho ended up rubbing his shoulder.

He immediately racked his brain but couldn't remember anything like that on her schedule. She never even mentioned it!

From the corner of his eye, he saw Ren finally move.

This was bad. How long has he been standing there? That was definitely longer than the 15 seconds it takes for him to get over his usual anger!

"Yashiro-san," Ren turned to him normally. "The car should have arrived by now. We might be late for the Kismet shoot."

That was a lie, Yukihito swallowed. That calm, collected look on his face was definitely an act. How can he just act so calmly like that?

No… Yukihito went into denial. There has to be some kind of logical explanation for this. That's right! He convinced himself. He's sure that Kyoko-chan would have a plausible reason because of it. It's because she and Fuwa Sho were just placed in the same show together, right? It's not like she can let out the impression that she wants him dead for the public to see. He's sure that when Ren sees Kyoko-chan's cute face and explain what's going on, everything will be alright…

He thought wrong.

When he and Ren arrived on the set of Kismet straight from the airport, Yukihito immediately noticed the absence of the movie's female lead. An unusual thing since she was scheduled to be in before them. By this time, she's usually up and about, ready to shoot in the filming area or hanging out with Vincent-san and/or Oohara-san.

"Eh?" Yukihito exclaimed in disbelief. "Kyoko-chan's not coming in today?"

"Yeah," Director Shingai nodded. "You agency called us up a couple of days ago to say Kyoko-chan will be taking two days off and that she'll be back Friday."

Worriedly, the assistant director, who stood by Director Shingai, turned to Ren. "Tsuruga-kun… could it be that… you didn't get our message? About the changes in the scenes we'll be shooting day…"

Kyoko-chan? Time off? Yukihito wondered in confusion.

"No," Ren answered with frightening normalcy. "I got the message through Yashiro-san. I'm prepared."

At the time, Yukihito didn't think anything of those changes. Things like location, essential props or actor unavailability were rare but not unusual issues that prompted changes in shooting schedules. However, he never expected Kyoko-chan to be the reason! Why?

"That's good," the assistant director sighed with relief. "It'd be a problem if you didn't."

"Well, there was no reason for us to miss the message," Ren answered. "You left a voicemail message for me then also gave the message to my agency and manager…"

This was not looking good. Yukihito appraised the situation. Ren was acting far too normally, and it made the situation nearly too scary for words.

"…By the way," Ren prompted the change in topic. "Can I just ask, since I'm part of the main cast and all, did anything happen to Mogami-san that would prompt such a sudden change in the shooting schedule?"

She's in the hospital! Yukihito unreasonably pleaded. She's sick and the doctor prescribed a week-long bed rest for her. Being the foolish workaholic Kyoko-chan is, the doctor checked her in. He and Ren could come visit her later tonight.

"Not sure," Director Shingai shrugged. "I was just told that it's for personal time-off. Her superior in LME flat out made it clear that no more questions beyond that would be answered." Then he changed the topic. "Anyway, get ready. We start shooting in an hour." Then with a careless wave, he turned around and started walking away.

Kyoko-chan on personal time-off… Yukihito despairingly thought. Plus an appearance with Fuwa Sho where the two of them are acting very close to one another…

Equals… He turned worriedly to Ren.

…that, he thought with a heavy heart and plummeting spirits. That indescribable, horrific look Ren would get when he's absolutely furious. His aura was so murderous, Yukihito didn't dare approach Ren even after the count of fifteen. Yukihito helplessly stood where he was until Ren recovered and moved on his own with a terrifying smile tacked onto a calm face and a sparkling aura, announcing that he needs to head to costume.

Kyoko-chan… Yukihito thought a little too desperately. Where are you and what are you doing?

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- I recently developed a life - nothing worth noting, just busier than the usual that the fic turned from low priority to non-priority at the time. That would explain why I'm late in updating. However, I'm this close to finishing it so I should work on it before September starts. Otherwise, leaving this incomplete will just bother me.

- I wrote in that Kyoko was not that quite ready to forgive Sho. Since she has always used Sho as her motivation for doing well, that doesn't mean she has stopped thinking about him. Up until the Natsu Arc, she was still thinking that the person who can succeed is still the one who can sell more. And personally, I don't think forgiveness is something that could be easily given in Kyoko's situation – it would have come out too abrupt. Of course, there's also that "If sorry can solve the problems on earth, there wouldn't be a need for a hell" belief of Kyoko's. Not that it matters since the manga's chapter 145 has already thrown this story off the loop. Oh well... it was bound to happen on the current arc... *Sigh*

- Reviews are appreciated but not expected. Next chapter'll be up soon enough.


	26. Chapter 26: Ren's Insecurity

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Acknowledgments:** Runadaemon for the beta-reading.

**Dedications:** Alliriyan and genkigirl - who made me think I am slacking off the hint-dropping. -_-''' insaneteacup too if what you were talking about knowing where this is going to go is where it actually went XD

**Disclaimers apply.**

**

* * *

**

"Why am I here, and what am I doing here?' Kyoko asked in a dragging voice as her eyes trailed another big-breasted, leggy girl.

"Huh?" Sawara-san turned to her in surprise.

"I can't believe I'm here…" she continued in a heavy tone as she stared out into an enormous waiting room filled with dazzling men and gorgeous women. "Auditioning for a villain role at that."

It was Wednesday morning. The day of the audition for the role Sawara-san, Matsushima-san and the President insisted she go for. And like the time of the LME Newbie Audition, she strangely felt out of place.

"What?" Sawara-san gave her a dry look. "Just because you've been playing villain after villain doesn't mean people will be begging at your feet for you to play another one."

"No!" She immediately straightened up and waved her hand. "That's not what I mean at all, Sawara-san! I'm just-" She stopped as another leggy beauty passed by. She felt herself fading. "I feel like my existence just got erased there for a second."

"Stop that," Sawara-san scolded, looking annoyed. "You came in highly recommended by Director Ogata-shi to be given a chance to audition for this. Even though it's through familial connections, you don't think he could have risked his reputation if he didn't think you'd do well," he said. "This is still the entertainment industry. No matter how talented you are, if you don't have the right connections, you're not going far. Besides, you trained hard for this."

"Of course!" Kyoko flustered. "I consider it an honor just to be asked. Even if it's just an audition. It just feels kinda weird to keep it from everyone." Especially from Moko-san and Tsuruga-san. The only people who knew were the okami-san and the taisho because she was going to be away.

"Well, that can't be helped," Sawara-san answered. "Not only will it cause jealousy among your peers since you're just making your debut, it also won't look good for your image if you don't make it and have it hanging over your head."

Kyoko just stared at him. Just now, it made sense. Why Tsuruga-san went all the way to Japan to assume a new identity. If what he said about being fired all the time was real, he wouldn't have been able to promote himself to agencies, directors, producers, or anyone else even if he was that good-looking. She suddenly felt contrite about thinking he was nothing but a talentless pretty boy for a long time before she actually got to know him.

"Are you still thinking about the Boost article?"

"Not really," Kyoko frowned, thinking back to the cramped schedule she had planned when she goes back. As always, that idiot Shotaro was making things difficult for her. A few more scattered appearances like a feature in a teen lifestyle magazine about platonic male and female friendships to build on their 'friendship'. "I just want this whole gossip thing behind me."

"Oh really?" Sawara-san answered dubiously. "Do you think once they start, it can stop just like that? This industry thrives on being talked about. The key is just to make sure that they're talking about you in the right way. Ren's actually a very good example of someone who is able to balance personal and private life to where people only talk about the right things about him."

"Was…" Kyoko interjected miserably. She was the reason Tsuruga-san ended up in the gossip pages.

"Eh?"

"Mogami-kun…" Kyoko continued in a low voice that imitated Sawara-san's. "You cause nothing but trouble."

"Don't put words into my mouth!" Sawara-san retorted. Then he coughed to calm himself down. "Anyway, even though he's already in the gossip columns, Ren's still on a better ship compared to most. Also, it was bound to happen sooner or later. No one could have maintained that spotless record forever. At least it wasn't about work. So, don't worry. Even the President's happy that Ren's not boring any-"

"Boring?" Kyoko's eyes widened in surprise. Suddenly, the flame of the wounded lamb ignited. "Tsuruga-san's not boring! There's definitely nothing boring about him!" She was the boring one. If she was anything interesting, she wouldn't work so hard to get attention as an actress. "Tsuruga-san can talk for hours and I'll never get bored! He-"

"OK, OK!" Sawara-san raised a hand to stop her from continuing. "You don't have to tell this old man the charms of Tsuruga Ren like a girl in love."

Kyoko tilted her head to the side. "I don't think you're that old, Sawara-san."

Sawara-san gave her a wounded look and commented under his breath, "You really had to override the 'girl in love' part and go straight for the 'old man' bit, didn't you?"

"I actually really want to thank you for coming here with me," Kyoko continued. "I know that you're very busy at the office, but you took the time to look after me."

"Well…," Sawara-san's cheeks turned pink. "That can't be helped. You're still underaged. However, you have to keep in mind that if you get this role and work here, you'll be eighteen when it starts so you'll be considered as an adult. Things are different here. Anyway, you'll have an appropriate manager who can look after you properly by then."

Oh crap. "Sawara-san…" she said. "About my age?"

"Mmm?"

"I…" Kyoko gripped the bottom of her bag. "I lied about my parents' consent at the time of the audit-"

"I know," Sawara-san nodded. "The President told me to do something about it before you started working. And I wouldn't worry about it. We wouldn't have let you work even at Kimagure Rock if it was not going to be possible. It's not like there aren't legal loopholes that we can go through." Then he turned to her and said, "Mogami-kun, you're not the first person to have this problem."

Come to think of it, Kyoko reflected. Shotaro would have the same problem since his parents were dead set against him being a musician. She didn't think Tsuruga-san would have that kind of problem though – especially since it was very obvious that his own parents seem so determined to support him fulfilling his dreams. LME was one thing, but Akatoki Agency was one of their biggest rivals and would have been just as cautious about such legalities.

"Why?" Sawara-san interrupted her thoughts. He looked worried. "I've never heard about you talk about your parents before. Why now?" Then, with a panicked look on his face, he asked, "Is there something terrible that needs our attention? About your family?"

"Nothing really…" Kyoko sighed. "Nothing overly dramatic." Well, it was a big thing to her, but she's not really the type to conjure up drama to get attention or sympathy from others. "I never really got to know my father and the last time I saw my mother was months before I left Kyoto."

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it," Sawara-san relaxed. "You became popular when you appeared in Dark Moon. If she hasn't made a move to contact you all this time, she probably wouldn't do so now."

Suddenly, a large weight plonked down on her shoulders as the realization hit her. Her own mother really never cared at all! Well, she was kind of glad. She'll just be faced with coldness considering how imperfect her life was right now.

"Besides," Sawara-san remarked hurriedly, waving his hands. "With all the trouble I had with your guardians…"

"My guardians?" Who?

"That's right!" Sawara-san indignantly declared. "When I picked you up at your place, they looked at me as though I was going to steal the dinnerware and asked way too many questions. So, no, I don't think you're that deprived of parental love. They rank high in my list of overbearing and overprotective parents. And I'm a man who deals with the overbearing and overprotective parents of underaged talents on a daily basis!"

He was talking about the okami-san? "I-I'm sorry," she apologized. "The okami-san's just very curious about a lot of things in showbus-"

"Okami?" Sawara-san cut her off. "That sweet old lady just smiled and told me to look after you. It was the old man who freaked me out, asking question after question about the travel arrangements, the audition, where you're going to stay, a lot of my personal information…" His voice trailed off as he shook his head.

"Taisho?" The taisho was worried about her?

"Anyway," Sawara-san coughed. "I'm going to tell you something that you need to know now that you're at this point in your career."

"What is it?" Kyoko swallowed nervously.

"You..." he turned to her. "...have been blessed."

Blessed? Was Sawara-san talking about her?

"...You have people who care about you and your overall well-being as an actress and as a person," Sawara-san continued as his cheeks turned a light tint of pink. "Of course, now that you are starting to get more and more popular, people who..." he paused to think of an appropriate word. "...may not have been helpful in your life - destructive, is the word - would be coming out of the woodwork claiming you owed them something." Then he coughed again and uncomfortably continued, "I'm not really telling you how to live your life and it will all be your choice. However, I am hoping that you will not disappoint everyone who worked hard for you to become the person you are right now."

Kyoko just stared at him. W-was he talking about Shotaro? That desctructive idiot was the reason why she joined show business. Was everyone disappointed in her for being dragged out in Shotaro's problem?

"Like I told you before," he finally turned to her. "Everyone have their own issues, but you should be able to identify people who are good for you and those who are not."

Before Kyoko could think of an answer, a man interrupted by calling out, "Number 61! Miss Kyoko Mogami."

"Alright!" Sawara-san cheered. He patted her shoulder. "Do your best, Mogami-kun."

* * *

The audition panel sat after a long day of girl after girl and guy after guy. Majority were less than stellar. A lot were good. For the role of the lead villainess, two stood out…

"Kyoko Mogami…" the casting director read from the form. "She doesn't look seventeen. She was very good though. Scared the hell out of me."

"I like her," the director smiled.

"I like her too. But, director," the producer countered. "We're already hiring too many unknowns! This is supposed to be a movie to draw out a very big number of ticket sales. We can't solely rely on the two main protagonists' names to draw out the interest of the public." He pointed out on another candidate. "This one has prior experience and already has a tenure and a fanbase."

"Mmmm…" the director glanced through the other candidate's form. "She was good too…"

* * *

Kyoko sighed as she stepped inside the studio lot for the Kismet shoot Friday morning.

She was exhausted. She and Sawara-san arrived back in Tokyo late Thursday night and the sleep she had didn't make up for how tired she was.

Kyoko shook her head to snap out of it. The audition was over and done with. Now, she had to focus on Kismet. She already troubled many people because of her near-impromptu two-day absence so she had to jump right back into work.

She mentally ran through the list of things she had to do before shooting started. First, she reported to the director of her arrival back on the set. After, she headed straight to costume, hair and make-up. Once done, she walked onto the set and found Tsuruga-san nowhere in sight.

Strange… she heard that he had arrived earlier than she did.

He's probably still in his dressing room, she thought as she bounded for the male side's dressing rooms. She knew she had to break the "date" with him to the T.D.A. The longer he delayed asking that girl, the less chances he had being accepted. Or worse, he might lose the nerve. Or worse than that, she might get derailed and forget.

Kyoko knocked at the door and heard him call out, "Come in." from the other side.

She was smiling when she opened and peeked in. "Good morning, Tsuruga-san!" She entered, closed the door, bowed, and stepped forward.

"Oh." He met her eyes through the dressing table mirror. "You're back."

The curt tone stopped her in her tracks. Usually, he would greet her back with that dangerous, divine smile of his. The harsh light that was emitting from that fake, lying smile was something she hadn't seen in a long time so it came as a shock.

Determined, she shook the creepy feeling off. "Um…" She gave him a small smile. "Y-yeah…" She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"You disappeared so suddenly, you had me worried," he added. "But, it looks like you're doing OK. That two days off seemed to do you a world of good."

It was probably the make-up, she thought. The make-up artist had a hell of a time, covering up the dark circles under her eyes as a result of the lack of sleep she had. "T-thank you," she answered, feeling shy. "Um, Tsuruga-san… There's something I need to talk to you about. Um…" Now that she was in the situation, she felt uneasy about it.

"Mmm?"

That fake, lying smile was really making her nervous. "A-about the T.D.A."

"What about it?"

"I just…" she paused. Then, lifting her shoulders, she said, "I think it would be better if the two of us don't go with each other."

There was a pause.

"Ehh?" Tsuruga-san answered in a slow and deliberate time. "Is that so?"

Suddenly, a rage detector popped out and started flying towards him. With it's arms wide open, it started calling out, "I missed this wonderfully dark scent. Where have you been all this time?"

Kyoko took a step back and gulped. Why was he angry? With her out of the way, he could ask whoever the hell it was he was thinking about asking. "Yeah." She wrung her hands together. "I figured… I asked you too abruptly," she answered with honesty. Then elaborated, "I really didn't mean to ask you. The President was asking about it and I called you up on a whim and practically obligated you into accepting my invitation. So, asking you was a mistake."

Kyoko felt something dangerous crackle in the air. Her eyes widened at the sight of Tsuruga-san's thunderous expression. Why? She was letting him off the hook.

"A mistake?" he repeated in a dark, insidious tone. She froze. She tried to think of something to say, but her mind was running 100 miles per second, thinking of what she could have possibly done wrong. He spoke before her though, asking, "Maybe you just asked the wrong person? Maybe the person you really wanted to go with was the person you took two days personal time-off for?"

Hah! Suddenly, the conversation was starting not to make any sense. She's been with Sawara-san the whole time! As much as she was indebted to him, she's not going to ask him to come with her.

"Like Fuwa Sho?" His eyes narrowed.

Shoot! She hasn't told him about the situation with Shotaro! Because it was a situation that didn't involve him, she totally forgot about it!

She would never invite Shotaro. It never crossed her mind, even as a joke. Why did it cross his? "Y-you have it all wrong, Tsuruga-san!"

However, Tsuruga-san wasn't listening. He straightened up and started for the door, walking right past her.

She turned to him. "Tsuruga-san!"

Kyoko suddenly had the creepy feeling that he didn't want to look at her. Maybe he mistakenly put together that she was again out for some revenge plot against idiot Shotaro and that he was disgusted with her.

"Tsuruga-san!" she cried out desperately.

He continued to walk without so much as acknowledging her. In elated adulation, her demons came after him, calling out, "Ren-sama!"

On the brink of desperation, she used the one word that would get his attention. She didn't care if she ended up coming face-to-face with the fake Tsuruga Ren or the Demon Lord or even The Emperor of the – Well, maybe not him. Not only was she incapable of handling that guy, it would have been totally uncalled for in the situation. But she needed something to make him look at her.

* * *

Ren was just about to reach for the doorknob – leaving her in his own dressing room.

He actually thought he would be alright seeing her today. However, he snapped as soon as she tried to break off their date to the T.D.A. He felt as though he couldn't talk to her without saying things he would later regret. So leaving her alone so he could cool down would be the logical and natural thing to do.

"Ren!"

He stopped.

"He came back!" Mogami-san cried out. "The creepy guy from Boost came to Kyoto and found out Shotaro and I were childhood friends and that we ran off to Tokyo together. He came up to him last weekend and asked questions about what happened between Kyoto and our debuts."

He knew what happened then, Ren thought as he let his hand fall on his side. She told him everything long ago. Logically, if Fuwa kept his mouth shut, the magazine would end up publishing a twisted version of the truth. Or something even more damaging than that.

"I-" Her breath hitched. "I didn't even find out until Monday night."

Monday night was when she asked him to the T.D.A. He should have known something was up. How could he have missed that?

"…and I was suddenly backed up in a corner," she continued. "The next thing I know, I'm sitting down with him talking about ways to soften the blow of the Boost article." She took in a ragged breath. "I don't even know what else they could have on me, no one in LME got any call asking to comment on anything about me."

Ren turned to her and found her standing upright, her knuckles pressed hard against her eyes. She was trying hard not to cry. Whether she was trying hard to be strong or just didn't want to ruin the make-up she was already in, it was evident that so much frustration has already built up inside her and his own childishness tipped her over the edge. Now, he felt really horrible.

"Why didn't you just say so?" he asked as he slowly walked towards her.

She took a deep breath before answering. "Because," she reasoned, "This is work-related that didn't involve you. I figured you would understand the secrecy."

Her words hit him hard. They sounded so familiar.

"Also, you'll just end up scolding me for being childish again."

Childish? What she was going through was hardly anything childish.

"Remember that audition I told you about?" she asked. "I actually didn't get the role. I worked really hard for it, studied the role and sat through so much accent neutralization training. Well…" She let out a shallow laugh. "In the end, there was still someone who was better than me." She suddenly let out a cheerful smile. "Anyway, there will always be other opportunities, right? I just need to get over one failure and just move on to the next job-"

The fact that Mogami-san had a perfectly neutral Japanese accent only passed through Ren's head fleetingly.

She was trying to be mature about the whole thing. The hard worker and the perfectionist in her always ensured her success in her short career. She suffered through a couple of setbacks but she has always been able to get over it quickly because of her intelligence and adaptability.

"Anyway," she continued. "I know I should really get over it, but I still feel kinda bad. Especially since I pushed back the shooting schedule for the preparation for the audition. I really inconvenienced so many people-"

When had she become so mature? He wondered. When had he started becoming so insecure and childish?

Without a second thought, he pulled her into his arms and held her close. She's been holding that much in. The annoyance that she couldn't turn to him became secondary. She was feeling bad and he partially caused it. He was once again faced with the prospect that he was helpless and incapable of making things better for her.

"It's alright, Mogami-san," he reassured her. "You can feel bad about it."

"As long as I'm able to push it aside and be ready to work when I'm needed, right?"

Ren smiled. "Of course." Pandering to her emotional side never really got him anywhere with her. He tightened his arm around her and gently pushed her head against his chest. Ironic, he thought. "It's what makes people who are serious about their work different from everyone else." His physical actions were totally opposite of his own words.

He felt her relax in his arms.

He smiled. Everything was starting to look right in his world again. Impulsively, he closed his eyes as he brushed his lips against her forehead.

When he opened his eyes, they widened and he felt his entire body stiffen and he froze on the spot when, through the dressing table mirror, he saw the door slightly open and Yashiro-san staring at them with a bewildered expression on his face.

Crap. How long has he been standing there? Did he even knock?

Then with a snide smile, his manager gave him a small wave and slowly shut the door.

Ren was never going to hear the end of it.

Mogami-san stirred and lifted her head. "Um…" The sound made him look down at her. "I'm really sorry about the T.D.A. I really didn't mean to ask you."

"Eh?"

"I called you up Monday night because I panicked and didn't know what to do," she explained as she gently stepped away from his embrace. "I actually had this foolish notion in my head that you might get worried about me and it was the first time that popped into my head."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Then perhaps next time, you should just be upfront whenever you tell me things."

"Right," she nodded. "That's why I'm trying to make things right. I ended up giving a lame speech that practically obliged you into coming with me." Embarrassed, she continued, "I really am thankful for all the help that you gave me with Mio, but that's hardly a reason why we should go together. Anyway, didn't you say that there's already someone you liked that you were thinking about inviting?"

"I am going with someone I like," Ren answered almost immediately. Something inside of him was driving him to say it. Perhaps it was because he was still annoyed at the fact that she was symbiotically dependent on Fuwa right now or because he was so close to her. Either way, he put on a brave face and looked her in the eye. "That's why I said yes when you asked."

Her cheeks puffed and her eyes narrowed. "I mean someone you like romantically, Tsuruga-san," she said with a frown.

He saw what she did there, he thought, amused. She missed the hint and flat out shot him down. He wasn't sure how to respond to her, but he wasn't sure if he should push his luck. "Oh yeah?" He decided how to answer. "What happened to 'Ren!'?" he asked, imitating how she called him earlier.

Her face fell and started to look horrified. She took a step back as she stammered, "Th-That…"

* * *

Shoot!

She just overstepped her boundaries again! She just addressed her senpai by his given name!

However, it was understandable given the circumstances at the time. She had to get his attention somehow! At least then she still had the presence of mind to call him that and not Corn or Kuon. Of course, that would be a flimsy argument that he may not accept, she thought as her mind raced to compose a suitable apology.

Then he let out a laugh. With her head already spinning in panic and near hysteria, it sounded like a maniacal laugh from the demon lord.

"It's alright, Kyoko."

She stopped. Dumbfounded, she stared up at him. Was he just angry at her? Slowly, a look of suspicion formed on her face.

"Let's put it this way," he smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest. "From now on, I won't answer you unless you call me 'Ren'. We've known each other far too long. It's stranger that we're still addressing each other formally. What do you think about that?"

What did she think? She shakily thought. What is the hell was this? Some kind of weird penalty for offending him? She started to protest, "Tsu-"

"Tsuruga-kun!" a voice from the other side of the door called out. The door cracked open and a production assistant stuck his head in. "Ah!" he stopped at the sight of her. "We've been looking for you too, Kyoko-chan." Then to both of them, he said, "We'll be starting rehearsal in twenty minutes, you two."

"OK," they answered in unison.

The production assistant left and Tsuruga-san walked to a chair, picked up his jacket, and then turned to her. "Shall we go then, Kyoko?"

"Uh…" She pursed her lips together, feeling as though he just sprung open a trap. "OK," she nodded.

Very dictatorial, she thought as she stepped out of the dressing room and he closed the door behind them. She frowned as they started walking. He's a bully too. It's best to keep herself from addressing him as anything at all so she won't fall for the bait. She had a strange premonition that something weird would happen if she did. Just to be safe.

As they started down the hallways, he casually asked, "The thing with Fuwa…?"

Ugh… Why did he have to bring that topic up again? Not so much for his own temper, but for hers too. She had to bend her will just to keep her demons at bay. "Yeah," she muttered. "I guess I should have said something," she admitted. "You are my co-star after all. Even Director Shingai was really surprised about it when we talked over the phone last night. The marketing for the movie was kinda thrown in a loop because of it."

"Well," he sighed. "It's just because it was unexpected. I'm sure they already figured out what to do about it. But what I mean is if everything went alright with him? He didn't get you upset or anything, did he?"

"No, everything went OK I guess," she shrugged. She could tell him the Princess Rosa thing, but she got Shotaro away from it. Also, she didn't want him to know about how Shotaro still annoys her. After all, the whole revenge things might get him stirred up again. He was already disgusted with her because of it. Then again… "I guess it wasn't so bad. Sho's behaving as he should since we pretty much have the same thing at stake here." And to be perfectly honest… "Shotaro doesn't bother me as much anymore. I really think looooong and hard, but if I just think about the time when we still got along with each other, it can be a little fun sometimes." As they stepped onto the set, she turned to him and said, "I think Sawara-san was right when he said that this might be a good step for me to get around to forgiving him."

She blinked. She was alone. Tsuruga-san was not beside her anymore. Looking back, she spotted Tsuruga-san looking at her with a weird look on his face.

"Tsuruga-san?" she tilted her head.

He didn't answer and just continued to look at her.

Wryly, she suddenly became exasperated that he was really taking that whole 'I-won't-answer-unless-you-call-me-'Ren' thing seriously. She might as well play along just to humor him. She'll stop the first instance he reverts back to calling her 'Mogami-san'.

She took a step towards him and said, "Re-"

"Tsuruga-san!"

Kyoko turned in surprise as Oohara-san and Vincent-san walked passed her and went up to him.

"Uh?" Ren snapped out of whatever he was thinking about and turned to them. "Yeah?"

"Is it true?" Oohara-san asked urgently.

"What is?" Ren turned to her.

"What's going on, Yashiro-san?" Kyoko turned to his manager who stopped right beside her.

"That you got a role in that Date Hirotaka movie and that you're moving to America?" Vincent-san answered. "Some American entertainment site leaked out a list of the main cast and you're in it. It's all over the entertainment news here now."

Date Hirotaka? Kyoko's eyes widened. She knew that name. But not as the renowned world-famous director who was Director Ogata's father…

That was the man she auditioned for two days ago in America!


	27. Chapter 27: Kyoko's Objection

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

**Acknowledgments:** Runadaemon for the beta-reading as always.

**Dedications:** TohkoXKetsueki and stice73 - just for the heck of it.

Disclaimers apply.

* * *

Yukihito was amazed at how much time can pass when one goes on a short bathroom break.

He got the call from Matsushima-san about the casting leak and how everyone was talking about it now – since Japan's Number One Actor is participating in it. Of course, as Ren's diligent manager, Yukihito went straight to his dressing room to warn him about it and tell him what the instructions were.

That very sweet moment he witnessed between him and Kyoko-chan was too rare a thing to interrupt. Also, Kyoko-chan was there. Ren mentioned something about keeping her in the dark about the whole thing and even if Yukihito was against it, he didn't really want to cross Ren with the mood he's been in for the last two days. Now it's understandable why Ren has been so edgy about the whole thing. It was strange that his radar totally missed it, but he and Kyoko-chan already had a thing going. Well actually, if he thought about it, this was Ren and Kyoko-chan he was thinking of: two of the biggest romantic losers he's ever encountered, so that might not be it.

"So you're leaving Japan and moving to America?" Oohara-san's eyes started to tear up.

Ren kept a calm look on his face, but met Yukihito's eyes.

With a grim face, Yukihito nodded the affirmative and gestured to admit it. According to his information, production in Hollywood for the fantasy-adventure cash cow movie Ren was going to be in has already confirmed the news about the main cast. The movie already had a solid and strong fanbase even before the movie went into development so controlling the news would be hard. It's also all over the news in Japan.

"It's not like I'm moving there, Oohara-san," Ren answered reassuringly. "It's only one movie. Besides, it won't be for another couple of months."

"You're too modest, Tsuruga-kun," Vincent-san smiled. "Someone like you is sure to get noticed…"

Yukihito didn't listen to everyone's offers of praised and compliments as they started approaching Ren. He slowly turned to Kyoko-chan, who hadn't moved from her spot since she overheard the news, and was shocked at her expression.

"Kyoko…chan…" he cautiously said as he noticed the hand that gripped the hem of her dress started shaking.

All too suddenly, her overall demeanor changed. She stepped forward, and with a happy smile on her face called out,

"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

What the hell? Yukihito panicked. She was starting to become like Ren!

* * *

She did say that.

…and she was truly happy for him…

She snuck a stealthy sideways glance at Ren.

After everyone calmed down and rehearsal finished, they were seated side by side on metal chairs set on the side as a scene between Yumemi and her husband ran.

Kyoko felt terrible – like someone ripped out a major organ and tore it to shreds before her very eyes. Ren was leaving! Well, he did say that it was only for one movie, but this was Tsuruga Ren. No matter how bad his past had been in America, he wouldn't be so eager to take the role if he wasn't confident that he's changed. A very good-looking, highly-talented and extremely diligent actor like him? It would be impossible for him not to get noticed over there!

If she only knew…

No! She gave herself a mental shake. She did her best and gave the audition her all as she always did on everything she does. The thought that she would have tried much, much harder if she knew he was going to be there too was simply stupid. And the whole thing about being in the same movie with him again was because she knew that she was still not the actress she wanted to be with Kismet. Well, she was happy with the way she's been playing Chiaki, but she felt like it still wasn't enough to impress the person who she has always looked up to. It was such a disappointment that she wouldn't have an opportunity to show him that she would be able to catch up with him in terms of acting.

She slouched, her elbows on her knees. She used her hands to shield away her face. She felt awful – Tsuruga-san was going away… Corn was going to leave her again… Well, Kuon will get to be with the parents who have been waiting for his return again.

But still…

"Kyoko…" He leaned towards her to whisper.

"Huh?" she turned to him.

His eyebrows furrowed. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about the movie?"

"Eh?" When she was told about the audition, she was instructed never to even utter the name of the movie. What about him, who had been offered the role? "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's one of those thing you're asked to keep under wraps." Although, she still wished he had told her. Something. Anything. If only to prove to him that she could keep the promise to listen to anything and everything Corn had to say – happy or sad.

"Can we talk about it later?" he asked.

Why? Kyoko thought. There wasn't anything to talk about, was there? Other than 'I'm leaving, so make sure when I come back to visit as a major Hollywood star, you'll be a worthwhile actress or I'll deny ever knowing you', there wasn't anything.

Anyway, the shoot would end at five. She was supposed to be free, but… "I can't," she politely declined. "After the shoot, I have to meet with Sho for a magazine interview."

She swallowed when she felt the air crackle with tension again. "Is that so?" he asked quietly.

He didn't seem angry. Her rage detectors weren't popping out, but the air seemed really tense. "Yeah, can you believe it?" she frowned. "It's for some teen lifestyle magazine that's doing a feature about guys and girls who are childhood friends who maintain a platonic friendship. We're the celebrity examples." Even if it was impossible that it would ever happen, if that was going to be the topic, she would really much rather have it with Corn.

"I see."

"Maybe some other time?" she hastily added. He didn't look angry, but he didn't seem happy either. She didn't even know why she said it.

He simply turned back to the running scene and answered, "Let me check my schedule."

The conversation ended with just that. Needing to do something, Kyoko played with the fringe on her forehead and her fingers brushed against the spot where Ren kissed her earlier.

That felt kind of… nice. She was not used to being treated so kindly by anyone. Since she was a little girl, she always knew that no one was ever going to be there for her. Not her mother. Not Shotaro. It must be genetic. The only person who ever treated her kindly for making mistakes was otou-san. Of course, that was before he froze up after realizing that he was holding someone he was disgusted with. So, to save both of them the embarrassment, she just stepped away from the warm hug that he gave her earlier.

And why on earth was she thinking that it was a kiss? She straightened up suddenly. It wasn't even like a real kiss. He was just holding her too closely that time.

"What is it?" Ren suddenly turned to her.

"N-nothing!" she lied. "I just realized that I may wrinkle the dress with the way I'm sitting."

Ren gave her a smile.

She leaned back against the chair and absently watched the scene that was running. What the hell was she thinking? She mentally scolded herself. When you hold someone closer, it's obviously that you're going to get physically closer. He probably didn't mean that to happen anyway.

All of the sudden, Kyoko felt as though she was a hundred years old– groggy and tired. She was jetlagged, she just lost the role of a lifetime and was torn between elation and a little depression that he would be leaving.

Her eyelids suddenly became very heavy and started drooping.

There were, she thought sleepily, three more scenes before her turn. That would be at least forty-five minutes.

She was just going to rest her eyes…

* * *

Really, when did this happen? Yukihito thought as he stared on from behind Ren and Kyoko-chan as they sat on the sidelines of the set.

The dimness of the set hid it and nearly everyone present were paid to pay attention to the scene as it rolled. However, not everyone present were paid to watch the current scenes, so several people noticed. And he, the man paid to look after Ren, watched as Kyoko-chan sweetly leaned up and cuddled against Ren and how he slightly slouched to accommodate her height and started stroking her hair.

He was really happy for the two of them. They finally made progress.

He should really go up to them and tell them that they were not going about unnoticed, he thought as he saw Oohara-san's manager nudge someone towards their direction.

But, he thought as he very slowly stepped forward. He wanted to give them a little more time together.

Just what was Ren going to do? America has never come up in any of their conversations whenever they discussed the direction of his career. Would he be able to leave Kyoko-chan now? Especially since they only started whatever it is they're doing now? If their relationship only had the strength of longevity, it wouldn't be so hard on him now. But he did have something planned involving Kyoko-chan, right?

Then there was still the whole Fuwa Sho thing. No matter whoever was being linked to Kyoko-chan, the only one Ren becomes most bothered about was the one jerk who broke Kyoko-chan's heart. Just Fuwa Sho. Not Bridge Rock's Ishibashi Hikaru, not even that other jerk lead singer of Vie Ghoul, who Yukihito knew to be dangerous – Well, considering Ren's size, he doubted Ren would have had any problems dealing with that.

Not even that guy, Yukihito thought as he watched Vincent-san approach the pair.

What the-~? Yukihito stopped in his tracks. What was that guy doing there? Shoo! Shoo! Yukihito mentally waved him off. What he's about to interrupt was months in the making! He himself was going through the long route just so he could give them a little more time like that!

Then he watched in awe as Kyoko-chan didn't even pull away from Ren. He stopped stroking her hair, but held his arm around her as the two guys chatted amicably.

Are they… Yukihito thought in wonder. … really letting the whole world know that they were together? This was going to be a public relations nightmare and he'll be the ringmaster! It was more than OK for him, but having so much public displays of affections would make things really, really difficult.

Then Vincent-san turned to Kyoko-chan and laughed as he playfully started poking her cheek.

Crap. Yukihito thought in annoyance. He got worked up over nothing…

Kyoko-chan was just sleeping.

* * *

Kyoko was startled when Ren's penetrating gaze met hers. Across the table, she felt her cheeks warm up with embarrassment.

She already apologized for irresponsibly sleeping on the job – on him, burdening him with her dead weight, inevitably wrinkling his shirt and possibly drooling on him. Well, he said that she didn't drool on him. Either way, she was going to have to live with the sin for the rest of her life because he didn't scold her for anything.

She wished Yashiro-san was already at their table. However, he had to take a call at the beginning of their late lunch break so he was still in the lunch line. Being alone at the table with Ren despite the cafeteria being half-full was too much to handle.

Ever since that morning, Ren's mood has been tense and he's been throwing her weird looks. At least they weren't shooting Chiaki and Satoshi's romantic scenes. Only the ones with the other members of the cast. She had a feeling that if they did romantic scenes, he would strangle her.

"Sorry I took so long!" Yashiro-san cheerfully announced as he set his tray on the table. When he settled it, he turned to Ren. "I'm gonna have to run through your schedule with you later. There's going to be a lot of changes."

"Everything alright?" Ren asked.

"Well, Matsushima-san got a call from the movie's production company in Hollywood," Yashiro-san replied after reciting his table prayer. "The press conference's date has been finalized and will be in two weeks' time. They're just going to be filling out some of the secondary roles and such, but we need to stay there for a week because there's still some photoshoots and meetings."

He'll be gone for a week. Then come back. Early next year, the movie shoot starts and he'll be there for six months. Then he'll come back. After that, he's bound to spend more and more time in America and never come back.

"At least," Yashiro-san continued. "You'll still get to attend the T.D.A. But we leave early the next morning. Anyway, I'll make the calls and talk to you later about it when I finally finalize your schedule."

Ugh… The T.D.A. – the new forbidden word to use around Ren. Kyoko shifted uncomfortably on her chair. They were talking about work that didn't involve her too. Sure, they were openly talking about it in front of her and she was dying to know, but that didn't mean that she can just listen in. So, she tuned out and turned her attention to something else to distract herself.

"…so are Kyoko-chan and Tsuruga-san really going out now?" She overheard a hushed voice from another table to her left.

Her name being attached to Ren's name piqued her curiosity and she stealthily gave the people on the other table her attention.

"It looks it," the actor who played a recurring extra answered, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Kyoko was giving them her attention. "Didn't you see them earlier being all lovey-dovey when they thought no one was looking during the shoot?"

"I guess you're right. They've been rumored to be together already all this time. Something was bound to happen."

What the hell? She fumed. She expected this from the media or from the public – people who had no idea who they really were. However, these people knew them and had worked with them for almost two months now. These were the last people she'd ever suspect to be gossiping about her and Ren.

That was it! Obviously no one was looking hard enough since she only used Ren as a pillow. In frustration, she ended up banging her fists on the table, startling Yashiro-san and Ren.

"Kyoko-chan?"

Her mood was souring and she didn't notice Yashiro-san call to her and she slowly stood up with a murderous aura. Vehemently and brimming with intent, she turned around to the gossiping duo.

"Hey, you!" She pointed at the pair, surprising them and everyone else within earshot.

She had no interest in frivolous and stupid things like love. Ren, on the other hand, had a serene goddess he's in love with. No wonder the poor guy couldn't make a move on her with all these persistent, confusing rumors about them!

Recurring Extra Guy, the target of her pointing, stood erect and stammered, "Y-yes?"

"If the two of you are going to be talking about people who are in the same room as you are, I wish you would make sure that you wouldn't be overheard. What on earth would ever make you or anyone else think that Ren would ever be interested in someone like me?" she cried out. "I mean… Honestly! Would you even consider going out with me? Huh? Would you?"

The goal was to make her point – Tsuruga Ren will never fall in love with a plain, boring girl who had a broken, jaded heart which has been pieced back together but will never be the same again. The man she worshipped as a god of acting deserved the pure heart of someone incredibly beautiful. So, if someone on their level wouldn't even think of her as potential love interest, why would someone who was above the clouds?

"Well…" Recurring Extra Guy blinked and stared at her. "Yeah."

"Eh?" Her hand lamed. What? "Y-you would?" she stammered. She couldn't be more confiused by Recurring Extra Guy's answer.

"Sure," he shrugged. "Kyoko-chan, you're very cute, sweet, smart, very funny, and from what I heard, a great cook. To most guys, that would be a complete package."

Was she being made fun of? Kyoko's face pinched, her temper simmered to a boil.

"But, this is all purely hypothetical, right, Kyoko-chan?" Recurring Extra Guy amended as he waved his hand. His eyes darted to Ren and shook his head in panic, "I-I-I don't even like girls."

Well, it was no wonder her argument was not working on this guy, Kyoko thought wryly as she planted her hands on her hips. As fine as she was with the guy's lifestyle choice, she was still asking the wrong kind of guy! She was just really unlucky when it comes to random lotteries. She would never get a decent answer from him, so she turned to his friend.

Recurring Extra Guy's friend immediately looked flustered and started shaking his head. "While all of that is true, I already have a girlfriend I happen to be very in love with. My girlfriend is cute, smart and funny enough for me."

And that was exactly the point she was trying to make, Kyoko quickly revised the conclusion she originally thought of to suit the scenario. Even if she was "cute, smart, and funny", there is always someone who is cuter, smarter and funnier than she was. So, no guy would ever look at her. A guy like Tsuruga Ren would never fall in love with someone who was merely THAT. The girl that he loves would undoubtedly be beautiful, intelligent and witty.

"Hey, hey," Ren called out to her. She turned to him and saw an amused look on his face. "Stop upsetting the cast by asking weird questions."

"Oh yeah?" an obviously disguised voice that sounded a lot like Director Shingai called out. "What about you, Tsuruga-kun? Would you date someone cute, smart and funny like Kyoko-chan?"

Kyoko face turned beet red when every pair of eyes in the general vicinity turned to them. More specifically, at Ren.

Don't answer that! Kyoko pleaded in her head. She was the one who started this whole embarrassing thing. She's the one that they should be making fun of. They didn't have to pick on Ren too. He should just take the high road and give the answer typical of him when asked prying questions about his love life.

"Ehhh…" Kyoko felt harsh light from his superstar smile hit her back. "Cute, smart, funny, and can cook? Sure. Why not?"

After a quick lunch, Kyoko announced that she was taking a quick nap for the rest of the break. She was still embarrassed about the spectacle she made in the cafeteria. Only death was the answer for her actions and now, she has to live with the sin for the rest of her life because everyone just laughed at her.

It would have been really funny if the backdrop of the situation didn't look so grim.

* * *

In an isolated hallway, Ren pulled out his phone and dialed a number that picked up on the first ring.

"President," he said, hoping he sounded as normal as he was capable of. "Would it be possible to have a word with you later?"

Later for Ren came hours later after he finished all the work he had lined up for the day. Later was nearly midnight at the President's private home office.

"A…" the usually eloquent President Takarada was a loss for words. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Ren nodded grimly. "I'm very serious."

"Have you gone insane?" the President threw a fit. "You've worked too long and too hard to get this chance and you're throwing it away?"

"I'm well aware of that," he admitted.

"Ren," the President reasoned. "You know that this is something that you can't get easily. This has been your goal all this time, hasn't it? You either take it now or someone else who wants it just as badly will. After that, you'll be known as the guy who got cold feet and you'd be forgotten."

Ren gripped his knees, having no idea how to answer.

"And it's not like you're going to be gone forever, it's only six months!" President Takarada grumbled. "What happens afterwards will all be dependent on you." Before Ren could say something, the President continued. "And don't think I'm just going to leave it at that. I want an explanation," he demanded. "Make it a good one."

Ren sighed. Of course he would ask. "I just think that my career here in Japan is enough," he answered. Leaving now for months on end would be a disaster. "I am… content."

President Takarada stared at him, sizing him up. Ren already knew that he saw through the lie. "How long, do you think," the President asked, "would you be content before you start resenting Mogami-kun for being the reason you gave up your dream to go back to America?"

That was a preposterous question. He would never resent Kyoko for that reason. He was deciding on his own. The thought never even crossed his mind.

"I'm just curious," the President continued. "Since in your audition for Date-kun, you were willing to do just about anything to get the role. And sitting here now, you haven't even mentioned anything about being afraid of going back because of what you left behind or your doubt in your ability. That would be the next logical reason, wouldn't it? Since you came here, you never really developed many attachments to people."

"That's a very rude assumption, sir," Ren complained. "I have built many relationships with people here."

"I'm not talking about Maria who can fly off to anywhere at the drop of a hat or Yashiro-kun who's going with you," the President countered. "Considering that Mogami-kun has neither clung nor run away from you means you haven't even done anything to make your feelings known. I mean, haven't you started naming your children or decided if you want a Western or a traditional wedding?"

Eh? "I-I'm only twenty-one, sir," Ren answered, flustered. And she's only seventeen. Well, he knew that he wanted to be with her – forever, if possible – but not in that detail.

"I guess not," the President pouted. "How disappointing. I was expecting more from you. You should know by now that age really has no connection whether you want to spend the rest of your life with someone." Then he became serious again. "However, regarding the matter of the movie, I don't think you've thought this through." He gave Ren a frank stare. "Now… the only thing I can think of about Mogami-kun's current situation that would make you think this way is because she didn't-"

The President stopped short of what he was about to say and Ren glanced at him curiously. It was unusual for him to cut his sentences, only because President Takarada has always been sure of everything he says.

"Because she," the President finally continued after a very brief pause, "is currently running around with Fuwa Sho because they had a past together that they're trying to cover up before the tabloids get to them and destroy their careers." Ren didn't know what look he had on his face, but the way President Takarada described it seemed so… graphic. Then, the President's eyes widened with realization and pointed at him accusingly and cried out, "You knew!"

"So do you."

"I know from the very little she told Sawara-kun four days ago when the issue popped up," the President pouted. Then he turned back to Ren and glared at him. "So… the reason is Mogami-kun and Fuwa Sho!" The crossed his arms over his chest and started fidgeting. "God, man… I can't even leave you alone for a second without something weird happening to you. Tche! All this trouble all because of jealousy."

Ren just fell silent.

"How boring." The President let out a loud long, dramatic sigh. "If you're worrying about that, then there's obviously more to what Mogami-kun told us and you know what it is. But you're a smart boy. You know that carrying that kind of heavy baggage is never good for one's heart. Aren't you even a little glad that she's willing to bury the past?"

It was never a good thing. However, with Kyoko's penchant for clinging to previous offenses and how she can hold a grudge, Ren always believed that the best way for her to get over it was not to be exposed to Fuwa. And that, in time, she will move on with her life and never think about him again. However, knowing how much influence Fuwa still had over her, that may never happen.

"Going back to the reason why you came here…" The President moved to change the topic. When Ren raised his head. "Of course, everything will be up to you. I'm not going to force you. However, I want you to really think about this."

"I've made up my mind," Ren answered with finality. "As courtesy, we should really inform the director and everyone in Hollywood so they can already make the arrangements to find my replacement before the press conference."

"I'll give you until Monday morning," The President dictated in that tone that will not accept any protests. "Really think about it. Otherwise, your mother will kill me and your father will have 'kidnapper' engraved on my tombstone."

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- Finally. I managed to write out a chapter. I had writer's block, meaning my life is blocking my being a writer. Also, my beta-reader's been super busy.

- Yes, the chapter is filler-esque. I just want to write something light before the drama for the next chapter come. This would also hopefully explain to a certain extent why Kyoko has remained oblivious to Ren all this time. Yes, next chapter will be nothing but Ren and Kyoko.

- Anyway, thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate them. I haven't been on-line as much so I can't answer them much. Anyway, as always, your reviews are appreciated but not expected.

- Next chapter will be up tomorrow. The chapter after that... hopefully, some time next week. Depends on my time - internship eats up a lot of my time now.


	28. Chapter 28: Ren's Decision

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

**Acknowledgments:** Runadaemon for the beta-reading as always.

**Dedications: **Spherrow - just because, Mollica - because I can, and pyromaniacqueen - because I want to

Disclaimers apply.

* * *

"Cut!" the director called. After a brief run through of the scene just taken on the small monitor beside him, he finally declared, "OK, it's a wrap for the day!"

The Ishibashi onii-sans let out a cheer and Kyoko smiled as she removed Bo's headpiece.

It was Saturday night. After make-up school in the morning and the Box "R" shoot in the afternoon, she just completed her skits and insert segments for the week's episode of Kimagure Rock. Tomorrow, she was going to be devoting her whole day to making up for her absence on the Kismet set for her scene's shooting. After all the disappointments she encountered this week, falling back on something familiar was a blessing.

"Kyoko-chan~" Hikaru-san's cheerful face was the first thing she saw. "We're all going out for dinner after we change. Do you want to join us?"

"Thank you for asking, but I can't," Kyoko answered. "I still have loads of schoolwork to catch up with and I promised that I'll help around at home tonight."

"I-is that so?" Hikaru-san started shifting uncomfortably. "Maybe some other time then?"

"Yeah," she smiled sheepishly. Kyoko bowed to her senpai. "Well, I better get going. I'll see you guys for the live shoot."

"Yeah " Hikaru-san gave her a weak wave. "I'll see you."

And with that, Kyoko turned around and made her way to her dressing room.

"Leader " she overheard Yuusei-san comment. "Have you ever considering trying to change tactics?"

There they go again, Kyoko frowned to herself. The Ishibashi onii-sans were talking about things she didn't understand again. Going out with them might make her feel left out so it might have been a good idea to decline them. However, they never made her feel left out and were always considerate when they were at work. She should at least start hanging out with them at least once.

She'll join them the next time they ask, she thought happily as she turned the corner and immediately jumped backward, her back against the wall.

That was close! She thought as she calmed down her hammering heart. That large, gaping, life-sucking black hole almost pulled her in.

Slowly, she craned her neck to take a peek and was surprised to find Ren, sitting on the same corner when he and Bo first met.

What was wrong with him? she wondered as she worriedly studied his somber face. She pulled her head back and let out a breath. He's been acting weird since she got back from America so it must have been something that happened during the week off from Kismet.

Maybe, she thought as she shifted to move, he needed to talk it out with someone She hesitated then stopped. What on earth was she thinking? Did she mean herself? She shook her head vehemently. That was impossible! When Ren didn't know she was Bo, it was a whole lot easier, but there was no way he would open up now that he knew that Bo is his 17-year old female kouhai.

Then she heard him let out a tired sigh and say, "Kyoko."

Damn it! He heard her! How? Was it Bo's squeaky feet? Did he see her taking a peek? Why was she so careless about these things???

* * *

Ren wished the President would just let him have his way and called up production in Hollywood to let them know he's going to back out. But the old man made the option stay open for him, making everything harder. At least if he regretted dropping out, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Now, he was having hesitations. He really wanted to take the role, but taking it would equal to giving up

"Kyoko," he said softly.

He intertwined his fingers and rested his forehead on it. He didn't really know what to do.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he heard a familiar voice call from the end of the hallway. His eyes widened in panic and surprise. He lifted his head and saw Kyoko standing there in her chicken suit with the head in her hands. Her eyes were all teary and wide.

Did she hear him? Crap. He didn't have the habit of saying his thoughts out lout and the first time he does it was when she was in earshot? Why was he so unlucky when it came to things like this?

"I didn't mean to peek," she announced. "T-this is really just my route when I'm headed for storage! I was just really surprised that there was someone here and that it was you so I just jumped back."

He smiled. At least, she didn't jump to the right conclusion or even ask about what she heard. "No," he answered. "I'm sorry for startling you."

She just stared at him, blinked, then tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong?" she asked as she took a precarious step forward. "You've been acting strange since yesterday. Especially for someone who's on his way to becoming a big Hollywood star."

He couldn't just tell her, could he? Ren felt his mood drop. A few days ago, he was determined to tell her, whatever it took.

However, with Fuwa in the picture again, he was hesitating to go back to Hollywood. But he couldn't tell her why. If there was one thing consistent with Kyoko's unpredictable personality, it was how she would never allow herself to become a burden to others.

* * *

She was right she thought sadly. Ren wouldn't tell her. Why would he? She laughed in her thoughts. She already knew that he would never open up to her. A senpai would never show his weakness to his kouhai no matter what especially to a kouhai who already proved to be a bad listener. It must be a terrible embarrassment to him that he unknowingly opened up some of his weaknesses to her. It was even a miracle that he wasn't scoffing at her question.

Still he had opened up to a complete stranger like Bo

"I'm sorry," she meekly said.

"Eh?"

"It seems like I've deprived you of your friend," she explained, writhing in guilt. She scratched the back of her head just so she didn't have to look at him. "I really deceived you those few times. I really didn't think about it those times. I really didn't mean to catch you on some of your bad moments just for my own satisfaction. You just looked like you needed someone to talk to."

Ren smiled at her and said, "It's not like that, Kyoko."

She turned her head sadly away. Then an idea came into mind. "Wait!" she exclaimed, lifting her head. "I know!" She popped Bo's head onto her head then said in the low voice she always used when Bo spoke to Ren. "What's wrong, Tsuruga-kun?" Well she felt kinda foolish. Though she believed that she got into character enough, Ren might lose himself in how she acted and just tell her. She walked up to him. "You can count on me. I won't tell a soul."

Ren took a deep breath, stood up, and pulled the headpiece off. "No matter how hard you get into the role, I still know it's you."

So she thought miserably as Ren set Bo's head on the wood planks then sat beside it. He really can't tell her. She really can't act on a level to match his yet. She sank to sit beside Bo's head.

"I still can't believe it was really you under that chicken suit," he remarked.

Well, at least he was talking, she mused. So, she should at least respond. "Well, the role wasn't really meant for me," she answered. "The guy who was supposed to play him wasn't available so it became a Love Me task. After that, I was just asked back."

"But you decided to keep it all a secret?" he asked.

She paused before answering. They already had this conversation before. It wasn't like Ren to pursue a topic unless he was just doing it to make conversation. "Well," she smiled impishly just to change the course of the conversation. "You would know something about keeping secrets, wouldn't you?" He turned to her. "Will you let the whole world know now?" Then in a hushed whisper, she continued, "About Kuon Hizuri? I imagine there would be a grand funeral for the name Tsuruga Ren and more than 50,000 people attending it."

He smiled wistfully at the reference to otou-san's dramatic exit from Japanese show business. "No," he shook his head. "I'm not going to make my exit yet. I told everyone yesterday, didn't I? It's only one movie. It's just a first step."

Ren suddenly stopped what he was saying.

He just realized that he was still talking about Hollywood as though he was still planning to go. Just then he knew how much he really wanted to go.

"Kyoko ?" He slowly turned to her.

"What is it?"

"How do you feel about me going?"

There was a pause. Ren nervously turned to her and saw that she thought it was strange that he was asking her such a question. "Only because," he added, trying to lighten the atmosphere at such a somber topic. "I was half-expecting you to say " Then he imitated her six-year old voice. "'Corn, don't go!'"

Her face immediately flushed and her cheeks, nose, and the tips of her ears turned beet red. "T-That was a long time ago! I was only six years old," she answered defensively, closing her eyes and deliberately not looking at his direction. "I'm really happy for you, you know! You're finally getting what you've been working for all this time "

Excellent point number one.

" and you'll get to see your parents again "

Excellent Point number two.

"Besides, you didn't stay when I asked you the first time, " she muttered.

Point number three. If she asked him to stay, he would. "I was ten, you know," Ren answered. "What were you expecting me to do? Not go home and live in the forest?"

"Well yeah," she answered bluntly. "Then again, I believed you were a fairy then."

Ren laughed.

Kyoko sighed. "But honestly, I'm really sad too," she admitted. Ren sobered up and turned to her. She gave him a small smile. "I thought that we would be together forever. That you'll always be there to shout at me when I become weird and unreasonable."

Oh. That. That kinda fizzled out the effect of the 'together forever' she was talking about.

"I just wanted to, at least, be a real actress before you leave," she smiled sadly. She looked ahead. "I know you keep telling everyone that it's only one movie and that you'll only be gone for a couple of months. But once you're there, I know you're not going to let a chance like that pass you by so you're going to be working hard on it. In the end, you'll eventually leave Japan for good."

The knowledge that Kyoko would be sad if he went away made Ren determined to stay again. He didn't really care to what degree. If she wants him to stay, he'd stay. "Then," he asked. "What would you think I tell you that I'm having second thoughts about going and I am thinking about staying."

"Eh?"

Uncomfortably, he shifted. "I'm thinking that it's not the right time so maybe I should reject the offer."

Her head couldn't have snapped to his direction any faster. "Why?"

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"What do you mean you think it's not the right time?" she asked in an incredulous tone. "You already accepted it so why are you suddenly having a change of heart? I don't think you'd have anything to feel hesitant about anymore. You already have the ability and the confidence to face it. You were the one who taught me that chances on roles this important are too rare to come by. So, why?" She inched her face closer. "Why?" Closer. "Why?"

Her eyes glint with obsession as she stared at him, unblinking and demanding for an answer. It was comical and scary at the same time. He used every bit of acting ability he had to keep himself from looking freaked out.

Kyoko blinked and suddenly pulled back and sat down upright again. "Sorry," she apologized. "I'm overstepping my bounds."

"It's ok." He straightened up.

"Actually, I think this has something to do with me addressing you so casually," she admitted. "I think I'm turning scarily honest just because I'm getting the impression that we're close for the sole reason that we address each other so casually."

For a very formal girl who has been raised to be conscious of one's status in life, it must be really weird for her to be like that to someone she has considered as a senpai all this time. "You've never really sugar-coated anything you tell me. Besides, I appreciate the honesty."

"Yeah " she muttered. "But this time around, I just answer you without thinking about it."

He smiled. "That's even better."

"So?" she turned to him again. She had a really unpleasant look on her face. "What's all this about you thinking about rejecting the offer for America? This isn't just you waking up, deciding to pack your bags and taking a chance at America. This is a worthy job that gives you a promising jump start for a career there."

He debated briefly about telling her the truth. He always told himself that he'll finally tell her how he felt. However, she will be troubled knowing she's the reason he's not going.

But he wanted to tell her something.

He reached out and touched the back of his neck. "Would you believe me if I told you it's because of a girl?" He asked without thinking.

* * *

The very image of her most respected senpai, Tsuruga Ren the number one actor in Japan and the person she aspired to catch up to as an actress fell apart right before her very eyes.

"A-A girl?" Kyoko asked with disbelief.

Ren gave her a weak smile in the affirmative.

Shakily, she asked, "Y-you're not talking about that high school girl that you liked from before, aren't you?"

Without saying a word, Ren closed his eyes and nodded.

And Kyoko lost it.

"What the hell is that?" she cried in outrage. "You're going to deprive the world of your talent and for what? So you can stay here in Japan, be with that stupid girl and make babies when you finally get the nerve to tell her how you feel? You've been in love with her for more than a year now and until a couple of weeks ago, I find out you haven't even made a single move on her?! If you at least said something to her, you wouldn't be this insecure!"

...was what she wanted to say.

Of course, she couldn't because she had no clue how close those two really are. For all she knew, Ren has always been around her watching over and taking care of her from not too far away. Maybe even to the point where she'd have no choice, but to melt when he finally gets the nerve to tell her he loves her.

"I-Is that so?" she turned to him. Ren has obviously fallen into a poisonous, deadly love trap. He was going to throw away everything for the sake of some girl. What the hell? "So you're not going because she asked you to stay?"

"No," Ren answered. "She didn't ask."

"Have you told her about how you feel about her?" she asked. When he just stared ahead, she fell into deep shock. "You mean you haven't told her yet?"

"I have," Ren frowned. "She didn't get it."

"Don't lie," she frowned. Ren was obviously making fun of her. No one could ever be so stupid as to miss a confession from someone as upfront and direct as him.

"Why would I lie about something like that?" he asked. He raised his hand and curled his thumb. "On her birthday, I specifically asked her if she wanted to see me. She just said yes, but only because everyone would have been happy to see me." Then the index finger. "Then I accidentally told her when we were having lunch together one time." Middle finger. "I even kissed her once." Ring finger. "A kiss should count as two, right?" Then his pinky. "Then there's "

Kyoko's head was spinning. What the hell was going on? In this world, there exists a girl who was a failure at seeing Tsuruga Ren as a potential love interest? Impossible! There were a ton of girls who would happily trade places with her and she's not even realizing it? Well, maybe not her, since she already gave up on love a long time ago. Still She sneaked a glance at him. He stopped talking, but his fingers were still counting. Her heart painfully constricted. He must really like her to endure something like this for all this time, she thought. His face showed that he was starting to lose count and to Kyoko, it was starting to become painful to watch.

"R-Ren " She raised her hand to stop him. "To be honest, I'm not really believing what you're telling me. I'm not even sure I like the idea of you and such a weirdo together."

He stared at her for a second before answering, "I like weird."

"You have terrible taste in women," she spat out.

He let out a laugh. "What would you do if I told you that she's you?"

For some reason, her heart stopped beating for a second. Then she came to the realization that he was teasing her. What the hell? She frowned. Weren't they just having a serious conversation? She knew that she's already crossed the line of politeness between a senpai and a kouhai with the way she's been answering him. It was even a wonder that she's still alive. But still "I'm assuming that you're asking me a rhetorical question. But since we're having this conversation, I feel like should answer it anyway."

Ren gave her a curious, open-eyed stare. Kyoko took a deep breath.

"I think you should go," she declared. "It's stupid that you would pass up a chance like this. This is your dream, isn't it?"

"People can change their dream to anything at any time, can't they?"

"They can," Kyoko nodded in agreement. Until recently, her dream was to become Shotaro's bride. "However, if leaving her here in Japan is your only problem, you can always ask her to come with you." She did that for that idiot Shotaro, who only intended to use her as a stepping stone. Ren asking that girl was different. He was in love with her and if he would just tell her, she was sure she loved him too.

"I can't do that." Ren gave her a dry look.

"Why not?" She raised an eyebrow. Her point was not yet made.

"I can't ask her to put her life on hold for six months," Ren answered. "I'm not even sure what's going to happen during and after that. If it were anything concrete, I would consider asking her. Even so, it's still unfair that I ask her to give up everything for my sake."

Why didn't he just cleave her with something dull to maximize the pain of an old wound? thought the-girl-who-threw-her-whole-life-away-for-the-sake-of-following-some-guy-despite-the-uncertainty-of-the-future.

Ren sighed. "Anyway, she's still trying to find herself. And I think she's having fun along the way. I like that she's doing things that make her happy."

Kyoko felt a funny twinge inside her. Something about the way Ren described the way he felt for the girl he loves moved her. "But," she tried to reason. "You'll be back in six months after and would have a clearer vision of what you plan to do, right?"

"Yeah, I hope so," he said. "But I think if I go, something terrible would happen."

"Like what?" Kyoko tilted her head. She didn't understand.

"Like how she might forget about me when someone else snatches her away."

"What?" Kyoko thought out loud. "It's not like you're going to tell her if you stayed. You did tell me before that even if she graduated from high school, you'll still look for an excuse so you won't be able to be with her. Are you a masochist or something?"

Crap! She slapped her hand over her mouth. She said it out loud.

"Nmm?"

Kyoko sighed. "Never mind, ignore it." She turned to him. "I still think you should go. If I was that girl, I would never forgive you for letting a chance like this pass because I will never forgive myself for being the reason why you stayed." When Ren gave her a dumbfounded look that didn't belong on his face, she smiled. "But that's never going to happen, right? Because the person you love will never think that way. The person you choose will understand how much you love acting and how great this opportunity is for you. If she doesn't have any faith in your dreams, you will just fall out of love with her."

* * *

Well, Ren knew that she would answer that way, but it was still different hearing it directly from her.

He always thought that telling her about it would just affirm his decision to stay and strengthen his resolve. Now that he told her everything about his choice seemed so wrong.

"You're right," he smiled.

"Huh?" she turned to him quizzically.

"I wouldn't have fallen in love with her if she wasn't like that," he elaborated as he studied her face.

She let out a breath of relief. "So you're not going to blame me for saying irresponsible things if things don't go your way?"

"Why would I?" he asked. She was really strange. She looked so relieved. At that very moment, Ren wanted nothing more than to tell her the only thing left that he was keeping from her.

But before he could even open his mouth, she stood up and announced, "Well, I should really get going." She turned to him. "You still have get back to your shoot, right?"

"My shoot?" Ren realized that he was still in costume from a TV Special that he was a guest in. "No, my shoot ended about an hour ago. Yashiro-san went out with some of the people from the show since I didn't have anything on my schedule today and tomorrow's my day-off."

She frowned. "So you're really just went here to sulk?"

Ren frowned at her. She made it sound so uncool - even if it really was. With renewed confidence, he straightened up and declared, "I was contemplating my future." Even if she just became witness to another weak side of his, and especially after her speech of absolute confidence in him, he really didn't want to lose face in front of her.

"You were sulking," she countered. Then she let out a breath. "Well, I guess considering what you were thinking about, you're entitled to."

He smiled. She really is one of the funniest people he's ever met. "Thank you," he said with utmost sincerity. "You really made me feel better." Simply saying those words rewarded him with one of the sweetest smiles he's ever seen on her face. Not wanting to ruin the mood and scare her off with sudden, unsolicited declarations of love, he decided that there was nothing wrong with starting out the usual way a man and a woman would get together. He doubted Kyoko would find humor at the fact that he confessed to her in a messy, dark hallway while she was in a chicken suit. "Since we both have nothing to do now, do you want to grab something to eat?"

"Mmm?" she raised an eyebrow. "Who said I had nothing to do tonight?"

"Eh?"

"It's Saturday night," she primly announced, "and the Drauma-ya is packed. I promised the taisho and the okami-san that I'll help out after I finish with the Kimagure Rock shoot."

"Hah " So much for the evening that he was envisioning of him and her together.

"Unless, of course," she cheekily smiled. "You want to come with me and watch me wash dishes all night. It would be quicker if you helped though."

* * *

"So," Takarada Lory frowned as he clamped his phone shut. "That idiot is really going to leave her." He did give him until Monday. But not even twenty-four hours have passed and he already made up his mind to go.

Just what was Ren thinking? Lory wondered. It was never like him to just give up on something, even if it's something he feels like he didn't deserve. He sounded enthusiastic about going too.

"President," His servant stood by the door. "There is a call on line one for you."

"Mmm?" Lory curiously picked up the phone. It was Date-kun, asking for something from him. When he was finished with what he had to say, Lory was flabbergasted. "Date-kun "

"What is it?"

"You have just caused the most unnecessary kind of drama that I've been on tenterhooks to discover the outcome of!" he cried out.

"Huh?"

"Now," he frustratedly shouted. "I may never find out how it all ends!"

"So you're not going to do me this small favor?" Date-kun sounded worried.

He instantly sobered out of his tantrum and said, "I didn't say that!"

* * *

"She talks to someone who is not in the room."

"Eh?" Ren turned his attention to the taisho who was on a chair adjacent to his own. The Daruma-ya had a long night. The last of the drunk customers staggered out the door fifteen minutes ago. He and the taisho were seated on one of the tables while the okami-san and Kyoko were in the kitchen preparing tea.

Ren didn't really know what possessed him to even go along with Kyoko when she told her that she was going to spend the remainder of the night washing dishes. He probably thought she was joking, but she wasn't and he should have known better already. At first, they sat on a corner table in the kitchen while they ate a quick dinner. Then he just sat on a stool in the kitchen, talking to her, while she saw to washing the dishes. After several rounds, he stood up and helped her. The okami wouldn't let either of them out to the serving area. The evening yielded him gaining nothing else other than a secret dishwashing trick that Kyoko claimed she learned when she was younger working at Fuwa's ryokan where she grew up, no doubt.

"She also obsesses over the smallest thing, usually curled up in a corner," the man gruffly continued. "She also has the strangest train of thought. She locks herself inside her room to cry so she won't burden us with her problems. While she has a good head on her shoulders, she can always come up with the oddest logic possible. There are not a lot of people who can be strong enough to be with someone like her."

Why was he telling him these things? He was talking about Kyoko, wasn't he?

"My wife and I never had any children," the taisho said. "But I always imagined that if we did, they were going to be exactly like her."

With those qualities??? Well, who was he to talk? He was the one who was in love with her and the one who finds those qualities so endearing about her.

Then he sighed. "She also believes that she doesn't need anyone." He glared at him. "Even if that was true, it's the people who are around her who need her."

"I know." was all Ren could answer. What the taisho was saying was true.

The taisho crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes and let out a hint of a smile. "One more thing."

"Sir?"

"You are fine young man who has no sense when it comes to picking women," he announced. "If you break her heart, I will hunt you down like the dog that you are."

* * *

And that was how things are supposed to be.

When two people feel the same way for each other, it doesn't matter how many misunderstandings they encounter. Once their feelings connect, it would blossom and grow into a miraculous strength that no one can break apart.

She believed that to be true between Maria-chan and her father. And she believed that it will come true for Ren, Kyoko thought as she lay in bed hours after he left for home.

She can't believe she got Tsuruga Ren, soon-to-be Hollywood star, to do menial tasks like wash after total strangers' dishes. Well, he said it was his "payment" for a good dinner. She didn't even know why he tagged along in the first place. However, the gesture made her smile.

However, he should have just spent it with that girl he was in love with. After their talk at TBM Studios, he had that determined look that gave her the impression that he was really going to go for her. Maybe his confidence faltered? Anyway, he shouldn't have come with her. Not so she could glaringly see for herself what she was never going to have a grand romantic life with someone who loves her deeply.

Jealousy is not a feeling that she was accustomed to.

She has always been genuinely happy for the good fortune people around her had. There has never been a point to think otherwise. Dwelling on that will never change the awful luck she had.

Even with Shotaro, she was elated whenever he gets to work with a well-known beautiful idol or because so many girls would come and do outrageous things to be near him. All those things were part of his good fortune. Of course, now she realized that she was nothing more than the loser who always cheered on him. But, she never really thought anything bad about his fame. She didn't wish for his downfall. She just wanted to surpass his level so she can be at peace.

Kyoko should feel the same towards the lucky girl who will never experience terrible heartache and will never know the pain of being betrayed. All because she had a slow and no-so charming demon prince who probably worshiped the ground she walked on. When Ren finally tells her... It was impossible for her not to be swept away and think she could not be in love with someone like him.

Because, when two people feel the same way-

She shook her head to stop herself. She should really stop thinking about things like that. For her own sake.

Such a thing is not possible with one-sided love.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- EDIT: If you are unfamiliar with the reference at the end, read Act 19.

- Sadly, the next chapter won't be up anytime soon. Probably in two weeks time. I've been very, very busy with things where I am not connected to the internet. But... Finally! Kyoko has seen the light. It wasn't very bright light since she's depressed about it and Ren's leaving.

- Thank you to everyone to left a review. I really appreciate it. As always for this chapter, reviews are appreciated but not expected.


	29. Chapter 29: Kyoko's Attempt

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

**Acknowledgments: **Runadaemon for the beta-reading.

**Dedications: **TohkoXKetsueki, cheer up! Alliriyan, where'd you go?

Disclaimers apply.

And welcome to the OOC Express.

* * *

"You what?"

Kyoko stood in front of Sawara-san's desk with a half-convincing resigned look on her face.

It was Monday morning, bright and early. Yesterday, Kyoko spent the day at the Kismet shoot, making up for her lost days with the flashback scenes with Chiaki's parents. She was on her way home when she was called to the President's home.

Like a diligent worker, she came to the office straight from the Daruma-ya with her luggage in tow for a Box "R" location shoot at Ginza after to give her answer.

"This is big news, Mogami-kun," President Takarada said as he looked at her strangely, his hip perched on Sawara-san's desk. "Don't you want to have this publicized?"

She massaged her nape. "It is big news. And great too," she answered. "I just think that there's already too much news about me already. That maybe… the public would already start getting sick of me."

Sawara-san sighed. "Mogami-kun," he said. "This news is just as big as Ren's American debut for that movie. Not like the gossip that's been going on about you over the last few weeks. Not that I don't think you and Fuwa-san haven't done enough with all your appearances together and all, but this is a great way to deflect those rumors that Boost will be publishing in a few days. Don't you want-?"

"No!" Kyoko interrupted. Sawara-san and the President froze. Then she regained her composure and just continued. "Considering that compared to Ren, this is minor news-"

"Minor?" Sawara-san exclaimed. And the President countered, "But that's only because-"

"I mean," she added logically. "Since Kismet is going to end shooting soon and is scheduled to premiere in two month's time, advertising for it is really stepping up on the perception that he and I match each other. I know it sounds presumptuous, but if he and I are supposed to be on equal billing for Kismet and news like this broke out now… Won't it sound like… I shouldn't be getting equal billing as him?"

The President and Sawara-san exchanged brief glances.

"She's right," the President declared. He smiled as he stood up and came up to her. "You have really good business sense, Mogami-kun." Then he walked up to her and enthusiastically patted her shoulder. "Just what you would expect from Japan's Number Ten Top Actress!"

"Eh?" Kyoko was confused.

"You haven't seen the latest rankings, have you?" Sawara-san drolly asked as he went through a pile of entertainment magazines and newspapers that littered his desk. He lifted and flipped through one and showed her.

It wasn't highlighted like the top three and the picture was small, but it was there. Clear and unmistakable: Number 10 - Kyoko.

"Well..." President Takarada smiled down at her. "You got here because of unwanted reasons. Let's see if you can use your talent to stay there and even go higher."

A warm feeling started to sweep through her. She was... number ten! And the President's challenge to rise higher made her even more determined.

"Now when news like this comes out when it does," the President's eyes started twinkling. "It will give your image more 'Umpf!' The flashy debut I had in mind for you just became flashier!"

Flashy??? Kyoko stared dead ahead at the President as he fussed about how he can make Moko-san's movie debut just as flashy. She suddenly had a vision of a circus greeting her everywhere she goes. President... she begged in her head. Can't he just give her a simple debut without the pomp and circumstance? What does 'umpf!' mean???

* * *

In another corner of LME Productions, Yukihito and Ren were facing a formidable enemy. Possibly the only major obstacle left with Ren's progress: Kotonami Kanae-san.

"What?" Ren asked drolly as Kotonami-san continued to start at Ren suspiciously.

"Nothing," she answered. "I'm just trying to figure out if you're still serious about taking on this movie and won't back out of it last minute. You're going to America, aren't you?"

Ren chuckled. "That won't be until March. This one will start shooting on December. And don't worry about the promotion. I'll manage it. It's not like I can't go back and forth. It's just one movie, Kotonami-san."

"Are you kidding me?" she barked. "With the kind of actor that you are, they'll probably chain you to the wall of some studio lot so you won't be able to escape!"

Somehow… Yukihito thought. He wasn't quite sure if Kotonami-san was praising or insulting Ren.

"OK!" Matsushima-san cheerfully announced as he returned to his desk where the three of them stood waiting. "Sorry I took so long. I wasn't sure where the intern left them yesterday." He slid two bound scripts in from of them. "Here you go! The completed script for the new Ogata movie. It's still a working title, but we'll get to find out in a couple of week's I guess."

Ren picked up the script and opened it to the first page. Yukihito watched in dismay as Kotonami-san leafed though the pages as though she was using it to fan herself. Not good, he estimated. Ren was very serious about these kinds of things. And he heard that Kotonami-san was too. When encountering a new script, Ren would reflectively read through it, taking in as much as he can in one reading. Kotonami san was acting as though she didn't care about it at all.

How on earth are these two going to get along with each other?

Several minutes later, Kotonami-san took a deep breath and closed the script. Then she turned to Ren and gave him a sweet smile. "Tsuruga-san," she said. "I'm really looking forward to working with you."

"Eh?"

"Ah," Matsushima-san brightened up. "You like the script, Kotonami-kun?"

"It's very well-written," Kotonami-san smiled happily, clutching the script close to her chest. "The way the plot twists is incredible. I can't wait to see how it will be shot."

She already went through it?! Yukihito wondered in awe. He turned to Ren and saw that he also had the same bewildered look on his face.

"Well, that's good," Matsushima-san turned to the two of them. "It seems that the two of you are unfamiliar with one of Kotonami-kun's more impressive talents. She's actually an exceptional speed reader and believe it or not, she has already memorized the script." Yukihito turned to her as she haughtily pulled her hair over her shoulder. Then he turned pleadingly to Ren. "Now, would the two of you please make up now? That rumor between the two of you didn't even last two days. Since the two of you aren't working together nor have you appeared anywhere together, it would have obviously died a natural, swift death."

"Oh," Ren looked surprised. He turned to Kotonami-san and gave her a genuine smile. "I'm looking forward to working with you too, Kotonami-san."

"Same to you," Kotonami-san smiled back.

"This is also the tentative schedule for the script-reading, press conference, and other publicity," Matsushima-san slid two pieces of paper across the table. "Shooting schedule, as always, will follow. Kotonami-kun, just hand this in to your manager once he or she joins you."

"OK," Kotonami-san folded the piece of paper and stuck it in her copy of the script.

"We have to get going," Yukihito straightened up and announced. "You still have to get to that magazine interview on the other side of town."

"I should get going too," Kotonami-san said. "I still have to finish something before I head for my shoot."

Yukihito watched as Ren and Kotonami-san walked together making small talk about the movie. It was as if the seemingly bad blood between the two was only a figment of his imagination. Or maybe the dinner over at Kyoko-chan's place did them a world of good in terms of their relationship. Either way, it was a good thing since Ren always maintained good relations with his co-stars.

They stopped and Yukihito looked over their shoulders and spotted Kyoko-chan standing in the hallway, staring at something in the ceiling with her workbag on her shoulder and a duffel bag by her feet. Well, she was prone to such spells.

"Kyoko-chan?" Yukihito called out. But she didn't move an inch, like she didn't even hear them.

Then with a frown, Kotonami-san walked up to her, raised her arm and hit her squarely in the back. Yukihito and Ren were clearly startled since the force was strong enough to almost knock Kyoko-chan off her feet.

With a half-growl, Kyoko-chan turned to the offender and Kotonami-san just stood there with her arms over her chest, saying, "A girl who's now at number ten in the popularity charts shouldn't be standing around looking like a moron where people can see her."

The angry look quickly disappeared from Kyoko-chan's face as she nearly leapt off her feet as she cried out, "Moko-san!" She caught Kotonami's arm and smiled happily.

"Hey, long time no see," Kotonami-san greeted back with her usual nonchalance. "Amazing that you still remember your best friend, considering that you're been running around pretending to be somebody else's."

Kyoko-chan stopped short, turned to her and tears started pouring out of her eyes, "Mouuuu-ghouu-zaaaan…"

Kotonami-san let out a helpless yelp and started digging through her bag, muttering something about how troublesome Kyoko-chan was and held out a tissue for her. "Here!" she nearly shouted. "Wipe that pathetic look look off your face now. Japan's number ten actress shouldn't be walking around looking like a leaky faucet."

Kyoko-chan hiccuped, then straightened up at the sight of him and Ren. She was looking at them like a deer caught in headlights. The terrible blush on her face was not lost on Yukihito before she hid it by bowing low. "Good morning, Ren, Yashiro-san."

There was different aura around Ren as he returned her greeting with a nod. "Good morning. I'll see you later at the shoot, right?"

Kyoko-chan's face was back to normal when she stood up straight and smiled. "Yes."

"You heading out now?" Kotonami-san asked.

"Not yet," Kyoko-chan answered. "I promised to wait for Amamiya-san so we can go to the location shoot together. I'll be another hour or so. I'll probably just head to the Love Me Section to look for something to do."

"OK," Kotonami-san shrugged. "I'm headed there. I need to complete some paperwork before I head out."

"We'll walk you," Ren presented himself, surprising Yukihito since they were supposed to be leaving for the magazine shoot. It wasn't for another two hours, but Ren always liked to be early if not on time. Well, if they were just walking them to the Love Me Section office… it wasn't like they were staying. And he'll get to spend time with Kyoko-chan...

"Let me help you with that, Kyoko," Ren grabbed the shoulder strap of the duffel bag the same time Kyoko-chan bent down to reach for it.

Yukihito's eyes widened as Kyoko-chan grabbed the bag and held it to her chest, stood up and looked at Ren with suspicion. "No," she firmly said.

"Eh?" Ren looked unsure of what was happening.

"The last time you 'helped' me carry luggage," Kyoko-chan stared at him, "I go stamped with a –10 stamp by Kamio-san. On the cheek too!"

"K-kyoko," Ren precariously said. "That was a long time ago. Besides, I can't let a girl walk around with heavy luggage when I'm not carrying anything."

"You said something like that back then too," Kyoko-chan accusingly pointed out. "That was my very first Love Me Section assignment too! If I let you help me carry my own luggage, by the time we get to the Love Me office, you'll be itching to stamp out a –10 for me for not learning my lesson…"

Yukihito could only look on as the two continued a small argument about who will carry the bag. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kotonami-san let out a smirk and muttered, "This is what you get for being so cheap with scoring."

"Ah!" President Takarada surprised the four of them as he walked the hallway with a wide smile on his face. "So early in the morning and the Kismet lovebirds are having an argument," he announced. "How cute."

Kyoko-chan let out a strangled cry and dropped the bag, crying out, "It's not like that, President!" Ren swooped down and took it in one fluid motion, leaving Kyoko gawking after him, demanding her duffel bag back.

* * *

Kanae couldn't believe what Kyoko just told her. All she could so was give her a wide-eyed stare and comment, "You're what…?"

"Ssh!" Kyoko wildly waved her arm in urgency to quiet her. "Keep it down," she blushed. "Someone might hear!"

"What do you mean? I haven't said anything!" Besides, they were in the Love Me Section office, a place where the few and the brave never dared to visit without routing a request from any of the section heads. However, to placate Kyoko, she lowered her voice. "So… this thing you're talking about… Tsuruga-san doesn't have anything to do with it, does he?"

There was a pause. For a moment, Kyoko averted her gaze. And Kanae's eyes widened, catching her in the lie.

"Kyoko…" she started in an ominous voice.

"Of course, it's nothing like that," she said in a small, meek voice while her face flustered. "I mean, didn't you tell me that even if I shout out your personal information, you won't talk to me if something like that happens?"

Was that what she was worried about? Kanae gritted her teeth. "So," she haughtily announced. "You'd rather lie than 'fess up?"

"Eh?"

"I mean," she crossed her arms, really getting pissed off. "Who am I anyway? I'm only your best friend!"

"I didn't mean it that way, Moko-san!" Kyoko worriedly fussed. "It's just that… well…"

Kanae turned to her when she didn't finish her statement and saw a miserable face. Her pestering was making it difficult for her. Kanae sighed. "I don't hate you because you think that you feel like that for Tsuruga-san," she said. "Because I worked with so many idiots who can't see right through that superstar quality of his, they turn into stupid, brainless airheads. But you're not like that, aren't you? You know that he's serious, bossy, dictatorial, and would take off 10 points for simple errors you make…" She was really starting to get pissed off with him again.

"Huh?"

"Never mind," she turned to her. "I told you before, didn't I? I only want you to be happy. If me being mad for that is your problem, you shouldn't really think about it."

"Moko-san…" Kyoko said in a deep voice that sounded like it came from the deeper region of hell. Something dark was surrounding her. "It really doesn't make me happy! I told you before, right? He's in love with someone else-"

"Steal him away," Kanae said in a deadly, steely voice. She didn't care how much Tsuruga Ren was in love with that girl. If that little twit was the thing that got in the way of Kyoko's happiness, Kyoko should just steal Tsuruga-san away so she would be happy. Besides, she knew the man was not made of stone. Hasn't he been making small and trivial moves on Kyoko on the side?

Kanae frowned. Now that she was looking at it from that perspective, it seemed like Tsuruga Ren was nothing more than a fickle playboy. Then she shook her head. No matter, she didn't care about that. Kyoko's obsessive nature will straighten him out for sure.

"Yeah," Kyoko gave her a sardonic smile. "I can do that. While I'm at it, why don't I also do something about the melting polar icecaps?"

"Shut up!" Kanae near-shouted, annoyed. This girl…was really annoying. She doesn't even care about crap like love! Wasn't their dream to be great actresses who would be rivals like honorable samurai? Now, she was being forced to think about something like this! And anyway, weren't the two of them just talking about something important like work?

Well, she guessed it couldn't be helped. Kyoko was already ahead of her - she was already number ten in the popularity charts, nominated for a prestigious award and now had this big movie. She wasn't doing so bad on her end, but Kyoko's charmed existence and current status now allowed her to think about frivolous, stupid things like getting jealous over some high school girl Tsuruga Ren was in love… with.

She sneakily glared at Kyoko as she continued to staple together another set of documents from the Archive Department. Was she… really this dense? Or was it just denial?

"Kyoko-" she started to speak, but was interrupted when the door opened and Chiori-san and Maria-chan entered the room.

"Onee-sama!" the little girl's face lit up as she ran towards Kyoko.

Kyoko happily greeted her, but it lacked the same enthusiasm typical of her. And Maria-chan noticed. "What's wrong?" the little girl fussed. As always, an unhappy Kyoko made Takarada Maria worry beyond belief.

"Um…" Kyoko hesitated.

"It's nothing," Kanae interrupted. The three turned to her. "We were just talking about work for her that came up."

"Really?" Maria-can exclaimed happily. "Another one?" Enthusiastically, she smiled widely at Kyoko. "Well? Well? Is it a good one?"

Kyoko smiled sadly. "Yes," she answered. "It's actually a very good one."

Maria-chan let out a squeal then turned to the third Love Me section member. "Chiori-san," she said. "We have another party to plan!"

"Another one?!"

"Another…?" Kyoko's face fell. Probably feeling left out because she's not doing things she would usually do with Maria-chan anymore, Kanae thought. Kyoko was so easy to read – if the topic of conversation didn't center around guys.

"W-why wasn't I asked?" Kyoko fussed.

"Well," Chiori-san answered. "For one thing, you're a guest-of-honor since you're nominated and all. Also, it's not like you have the time to do so anymore." She ran her fingers through the cluster of envelopes she was carrying, picked one and held one out to her. "Here. Your invitation."

After Kyoko took it, Chiori-san held out another one for Kanae. "Here's yours, Kanae-san."

"Eh?"

"One of your TV movies was nominated, right, Moko-san?" Maria-chan said. "Of course, we'll be celebrating that too."

"Uh.. yeah," she nodded as she took the invitation. "Thanks."

"OK…" Chiori-san said as she dumped the undistributed envelopes on the table, then turned to Kyoko. "Ready? We need to be at the Box "R" set in an hour."

"Uh… yeah," Kyoko nodded. Because their conversation was technically unfinished, Kyoko darted a meaningful look at Kanae.

Kanae sighed. "I get off at midnight." Really, this girl was really troublesome. What was she expecting? Both of them to drop their work so they can conjure up some weird speculation about her love life? "You can call me by one."

* * *

Kyoko was late.

The Box "R" shoot experienced a technical glitch so she had to stay an extra hour because it was the cast and crew's last day on the location shoot. Director Shingai were already informed about it and just rearranged the shooting sequence until she arrived. She felt bad for causing the delay because of her tight schedule, but at least she was at the studio a little before her promised time. In order to do that, she literally rushed out of the Box "R" set after changing back to her regular clothes. Well, it was clothes she used to get into Natsu's character, but she didn't want to bother to digging through her bag for her other clothes since what she was wearing was just hanging on the wall where she left it. To say the least, because of the intensity of the scene she just had, she was barely out of character.

She hurriedly thanked the driver and jumped out of the car into the studio lot. Zipping through the hallways, she stopped at the sight of Ren. He was leaning against the wall, his profile downturned as he read through a copy of the script. Her heart jumped as she realized that he really was very handsome. Well, she always knew that and often used it to describe him, but it somehow felt different from this point of view.

"Ren!" she called out to greet him. When he raised his head and looked at her, she gave him a bow. "Good evening. I'm sorry I'm late."

He smiled. "Nah. You let everyone know."

"Why aren't you at the shoot?" she asked as she approached him.

"Well, the director said that you just arrived so he called for an early dinner break just a few minutes ago so you can eat and get ready…" He lifted his script and said, "Also, there's a bunch of re-writes to the script. I think the assistant director will give you your copy." He looked at his watch. "Don't worry about being late." He gave her a once-over and chuckled. "However, it looks like you literally jumped right out of the Box "R" set straight to here."

"I did. The schedule got pretty tight," she smiled. "Did you eat already?"

"No, I was waiting for you," he answered. "Maybe you wanted to have dinner together."

"Thank you for waiting for me then. Sorry for the trouble," she said obligingly.

"It was no trouble," he replied.

Suddenly, a loud bang from an unknown source echoed through the hallway and startled both of them. In her heels, she let out an inelegant scream as she lost her balance and would have fallen on her behind if Ren hadn't caught her by the wrist on one hand and her hip with the other.

"You OK?" he asked as he looked down on her face.

The closeness, the appealing scent and the fact that he had his hands on her made her eyes narrow and her lips stretch into a smile. Natsu's soul, who was still being exorcised out, has just fully returned.

Tsuruga Ren was in love with someone who was oblivious to his feelings, Natsu thought. The mere fact that it wasn't her and that someone else was getting what she wanted, made her want to steal him away without Ren or that girl noticing – just as Moko-san said. It seemed to be something fun where the results were all too favorable for her.

After all… the Natsu in her thought as she brushed her fingers through Ren's forearm before finally resting her hand on his arm to keep her balance. …when you love someone, a person will do just about anything to be with that person.

"Yes," she answered simply. "Thank you for catching me and sorry for the trouble."

"It was no problem," he said as he slightly loosened his hold on her.

"Wait!" The hand on his arm involuntarily tightened her grip. The motion surprised him, but that quickly changed when his eyes started to narrow and a familiar glint appeared. That's when she knew that The Emperor had awakened…

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Then he started to lean down to her, and the hand that rested on her hip moved to wrap around her waist. She let out a small giggle since it tickled her a bit.

Just as suddenly, Ren's eyes cleared and Kyoko felt both hands slowly but purposefully moved to her elbows as he gently pushed her back.

"Don't you think," he said in a flat tone, his stance cold, "you ought to be showing yourself to Director Shingai and getting yourself ready?"

Kyoko was surprised and taken aback by Ren's words. After she realized what she just did, she became mortified with herself. "Um…" she muttered. "You're right. I'll be going then." She bowed and refused to meet his eyes when she stood upright. Quickly turning around, she almost broke into a run, saying, "I'll see you later!"

She met Director Shingai as she walked towards the ladies' room. Thank God he mistook the redness of her face for her hurrying onto the set. He told her to relax for the remainder of the break after she got ready. She managed a weak smile before closing the door of the rest room.

She walked towards the sinks and noticed that her whole face was red. After setting her bag on the counter, she started splashing cold water on her face, which felt really hot against the water.

What on earth was she trying to do? She thought, mortified. That was humiliating! That was Natsu, wasn't it? Whatever she was keeping to herself was acted upon by a character who did things to satisfy herself. She practically threw herself onto Ren… No – That was The Emperor! What would have happened if Ren didn't have such control over himself?!

She continued to wash her face until she felt the heat go. She raised her head and frowned at her reflection. Under all that sophisticated make-up Box "R"'s talented make-up artist taught her that highlighted the features she considered as Kyoko's best, she was nothing more than a plain, boring girl Ren always saw as an easy-to-deceive kouhai who brought nothing but trouble and has no sex appeal.

She wiped her face dry and started for her dressing room to change.

She sighed as she put on a cheerful pastel yellow dress. Ren was in love with someone wonderful! So wonderful that he considered turning his back on a promising career in Hollywood and fight off weirdo harlots like her for the sake of that girl. There was no way she could compete with that!

And when the hell did she let him into her heart that was already closed to things like love? she thought as she stared at her reflection.

Then she stopped.

No, it wasn't that she let him in. He was already there. Memories of Corn and Kuon Hizuri… otou-san… Julie-san – who were very dear to her– and the great respect she had for her senpai had always been there. When all of those things came together to center around one person, he took up a big chunk of space in her heart.

She was, she thought as she sat down in front of the mirror, an idiot. When the hell did she let it turn into love? A small glimpse of what someone else would be getting made her selfishly want it for herself.

When she was still in love with Sho… She shook her head and tried not to think about things that will only bring her heartache. This time around, she had no illusions that Ren would come around to reciprocate her feelings. If her heart were broken a second time, she honestly didn't know what would be left of her.

* * *

Th-that was close, Ren thought as he leaned a hand against the wall to compose himself before staggering to the cafeteria.

Just now, he briefly contemplated something criminal to a girl who obviously didn't know what she was getting herself into by acting like that towards him in a place where just about anyone can pass by. And there he always thought that guys who can't see through her whole Natsu act were weak-willed. It took every ounce of willpower he had to stop himself.

But he was still a guy… Seeing the girl he was in love with looking so pretty up close and practically throwing herself at him for no apparent reason nearly made him throw logic out the window.

This was annoying, Ren frustratedly thought. From the way she scurried away, Kyoko was obviously spooked and she might start acting formally around him again just because they were forced to be around each other a lot because of the movie. This was terrible. He had to clear the air between them when she joined him for dinner so there won't be any uneasiness between them.

But he never got the opportunity to do that.

Kyoko never showed up at the cafeteria.

* * *

"...if you think I will say anything to make that girl's life any less perfect than it pathetically already is, you have wasted your time and just ruined mine."

Without so much as a goodbye, Mogami Saena-san slammed the phone to the only number he could trace her to with such force, it still rang in his ear.

He looked at the clock. It was two hours before his deadline and his article was going to be a disaster.

The reason he approached Fuwa Sho-san two weeks ago was because the only thing he came up with was that they were childhood friends. None of his and Kyoko-san's old classmates would say anything bad about "Sho-chan". And even if they reacted negatively at the mention of Mogami Kyoko-san, they refused to say anything. He immediately attributed it to classic teenage fangirl jealousy because as they claimed on national television, he and Kyoko were very close friends.

And of course, nothing came out of Fuwa Sho-san's family. They threw him out of the ryokan as soon as he started asking questions about the singer. And Kyoko-san's mother...

The woman was foul. The short conversation they had consisted of nothing but how imperfect her daughter was. She made him want to take a shower. That's not what mothers are supposed to be like. No wonder Kyoko-san ran away from home when Fuwa-san offered her the opportunity to do so. It would really make for compelling stuff, but the readers were clamoring for a follow-up on the Tokyo Imperial Herald Love Triangle. His editor insisted that it should be highlighted more than any of the other things he was able to come up with.

But suddenly, Kyoko-san and Fuwa-san have been running around in public like friends-budding-into-couplehood. And his third lazy-ass protagonist, Tsuruga Ren-san, was suddenly out of the picture with nothing about him other than that upcoming movie he'll be working on in America.

Huh? America?

He quickly straightened up and started to write.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- After months of being away because I've been busy having a life, I never forgot that I have this fanfic. Of course, the changes in the manga has derailed the canon facts I used and some fanfic-established facts, I wrote :( Never mind. It's not like it's mine to begin with :D

- Also, continuing the story with the vague, open-to-interpretation way I left off Chapter 28 kinda put me in a precarious place to start over. Those who have read it right, Kyoko's already in love with Ren. Those to didn't read it right, I'm telling you now, Kyoko's in love with Ren.

- As for Saena, my opinion hasn't changed: She isn't as fun to conceptualize as Julie. As far as this fanfic's going since Kyoko's getting everything she wanted - friends, family, career, she won't care for Saena anymore. I'm not a big believer in the adage "Blood is thicker than water." because I believe that water can wash away blood if you soak it long enough. Otherwise, you throw it away. Also, the little information about Saena only said that she only believed Kyoko should be perfect or she would refuse to acknowledge her.


	30. Chapter 30: Ren's Voicemail

**Chapter Thirty**

**Acknowledgments: **Runadaemon for the beta-reading.

**Dedications: **LazyCatfish27 & A Closet Mangaka - I know exactly how you feel. Just a little more (three more chapters & an epilogue, K&K) and it'll be finished.

Disclaimers apply.

Again, welcome to the OOC Express.

* * *

"Let's start the meeting." LME's PR representative announced as everyone settled in a conference room in Akatoki Agency...

Kyoko discarded the Kismet script re-write she was studying and turned to her copy of the hateful magazine set in front of her to read alongside the PR rep.

* * *

_LME actress Kyoko-san (17) has just become the envy of every girl in Japan! Not only has she been linked to many of Japan's most eligible celebrities, her top two contenders are Akatoki Agency singer and childhood friend, Fuwa Sho (18) and LME actor and co-star, Tsuruga Ren (21). The Tokyo Imperial Herald Hotel love triangle has escalated into a full-blown war for the heart of Japan's new rising star..._

* * *

Kyoko's eyes widened and looked up at the PR representative. "Whut?"

* * *

_Fuwa Sho-san and Kyoko-san grew up together as childhood sweethearts in a district of Kyoto. Their relationship has been the envy of their junior high classmates. When the singer rebelled against his traditional upbringing, he ran off to Tokyo to pursue his dreams of stardom. Kyoko-san's own discontent with being an inactive member of her school's drama club made her follow her childhood love. However, their difference in genre, their busy schedule brought on by their meteoric rise to stardom, and their own agencies' rivalry caused a big rift in the relationship and the couple broke up._

_Enter Tsuruga Ren, who met the actress through their agency. Tsuruga-san became smittened and got to know the actress at the Mountain Plain Hotel when he was shooting his movie, Ring Doh. They started briefly, but broke up because the actress was much more interested in building her career. They remained friends, but the actor never quite got over the actress and his feelings were revived when they both starred in their upcoming movie Shingai Seiji (32) movie, Kismet._

_The actress and the singer may now be public with their relationship, but this is a mere front that they may have rekindled their relationship. It has been very obvious that Fuwa-san is very in love with Kyoko-san. However, Tsuruga-san is not about to give in. Even though the actor is leaving Japan to pursue a career in America, Tsuruga-san has pulled out all stops, declared his love for Kyoko-san and asked her to elope with him to America._

_Kyoko-san is currently confused by her feelings for both men and hasn't made her decision..._

* * *

That...

That Boost bastard!

Sho wanted to shout it out. It was a Tuesday. A source LME had in the printing press that printed the magazine came through and produced a copy of Boost for everyone in the room.

"They really smoked us out with that Kyoto bit, didn't they?" Sho gritted his teeth as he stared at the article.

"At least there wasn't anything written about it," Matsushima-san commented.

"What?" Sho complained. "Wasn't the whole reason for this whole thing was because of that threat?"

"Sho-kun," Akatoki Agency's PR representative turned to him. "Perhaps it's because you're personally involved in this whole thing that you don't see the whole picture. Because you and Kyoko-san have been very public and open about your 'past', if they published anything about Kyoto, rumors will only branch out."

"Still," LME's PR guy interjected. "We have to cover all grounds and prepare ourselves for something about that. So, I think, after all the current commitments you and Kyoko-san still have going, it is no longer a good idea that you two be seen in public together very much anymore."

"What? You can't ask us to do anything we don't agree to."

"Sho-kun," his PR guy answered. "Don't forget that even if you've extended it to more mature teens and a male audience, your fanbase is still predominantly female. If rumors persist that you are dating, even if it's someone with Kyoko-san's status, are you ready to take the consequences of that?"

He had an image of someone who only lives for the music. Girls love that stuff, and he was sort of like that. But, he also knew that his fans' demographic love him for his overall image, not just his music. It's what keeps him doing what he loves and he can't afford to lose that.

"Of course," Akatoki's PR guy continued when he didn't answer. "We're not saying that you and Kyoko-san can't remain friends. Just as long as you keep things private."

There was no way that's going to happen! Sho turned to his one supporter who had been silent all this time. "Shoko-san..."

"There's really nothing we can do about that, Sho," she answered nervously. "As your manager, I'll be here to support you and Kyoko-chan al the way if you want to hang out. I'm sure LME won't be too strict as long as the two of you keep away from the public eye. Right, Sawara-san?"

The old man stared at him like some suspicious character before reluctantly saying, "If Mogami-san wishes it, but as long as she's not coerced."

"Like that will ever happen!" Kyoko burst out. "This is embarrassing! Last month, I was a title thief, this month I'm like some prize for some stupid contest." Then she turned to the three men on her side of the table. "And I can't believe that you guys are taking this so lightly! Ren and I have Kismet to think about. What will it look like if we have this kind of gossip going around?"

"That he's a guy in love who's willing to do anything to be with the one he loves?" LME's PR idiot answered. "That's the overall plot of the movie, right?" Then he flashed an amused smile. "Even if it's not true that this is Tsuruga-kun's last movie, I can see the public eating it up."

Kyoko, understandably, was flabbergasted. "A-are you suggesting we use this as a marketing tool?"

"Mogami-kun," Matsushima-san gave her a frank stare. "You know more than anyone else that Ren's not someone who will back down at using himself to promote his work."

Why the hell would she know that more than anyone else?

"I know that," Kyoko argued. "But this is private life we're talking about." Then she looked so upset that she started stammering. "This... This is going to ruin everything for him!"

"She's right," Sho protested alongside her. "Tsuruga's fanbase is also predominantly female too. How come he's not getting a restraining order over this?"

"Don't talk about it like you care or you know what's going on!" she barked at him.

"The situation is different for them, Sho-kun," his PR guy sighed. "Tsuruga-san and Kyoko-san have work together to promote. You don't."

"Granted, this is the first time Tsuruga-kun's name has been dragged around like this," LME's PR said. Sho almost missed the disturbed look on Kyoko's face. "However, at least it's not some scandalous piece about him that could damage his career. And while his fanbase is predominantly female, he's well beyond the typical idol status. He's still at number one in the popularity charts despite being written about in Boost last month."

Sho didn't need to be reminded that he slid down to Number 3 from his former Number 2 position in overall popularity – by a small margin in comparison, but still a slide. However, he was still in Number 1 in the music charts. He had a new single coming out to secure that, but it was still a big hit to the ego.

What did this guy mean typical idol??? Him? Ha!

"Now as for you, Mogami-kun," Sawara-san turned to her. "We need to make sure you won't get affected by this thing since your own fanbase is predominantly male…"

"I don't think that's something you should worry about, Sawara-san," LME's PR rep interrupted. "This article is actually a big thing for Kyoko-san. If she's the kind of girl who can be rumored to get attention from celebrities like Tsuruga-kun and Fuwa Sho-san over there, it'll only add more appeal."

Kyoko tilted her head to the side, a clueless look on her face. "I have a fanbase? And it's predominantly male?"

She really was an idiot, Sho slapped his hand to his face. Who the hell did she think got her to Number 10 in the first place? The magical ranking fairy?

* * *

Ren sat patiently where Yashiro-san left him in the office of a movie producer for a film he was considering appearing in.

For the first time in a long time, he had become overwhelmed with his schedule. The constant changes and schedule juggling were a bit much for him, but he would adjust. He always did. All the changes in his life had been pretty good so far. He wouldn't dare change it for anything. At least he will be off-loaded of one job this week, he thought half-enthusiastically. This was his last week on the Kismet set. Annoying that it had to be that particular one, since it would once again limit the time he can spend with Kyoko.

Suddenly, at the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Kyoko. A smiling face at the corner of a magazine cover on the stack for waiting guests. Wistfully, he pulled out the magazine and frowned at the sight of Fuwa's face beside hers. Then he sighed.

That was for work, he convinced himself. It was a necessary evil that needed to be done just so Kyoko can have a peaceful work life without unnecessary distractions like this. It had nothing to do with him, even if he wished it did. At least then, he would have been able to give her the firm support that she needed, rather than having it seem like he was only concerned about the movie.

He shook his head. He really didn't want to know what was written. Kyoko already told him that it was nothing. That should be enough.

Ren looked around the room, trying to look for something else to do when the form of distraction he held proved to be something that he didn't like to see. Failing to do so, he took out his mobile phone and ran through the messages he had received since he never answered his phone during the daytime.

His curiosity got piqued when he saw several messages from a familiar number. He opened one from an hour ago...

"Reeeeeee~n," a voice filled with gloom and doom came through the other line that creeped Ren out so much, the hair at the back of his neck stood. Then the voicemail dropped.

He opened the next one, also from an hour ago.

"Sorry about the last message," Kyoko's voice this time around was much more urgent. "This is Mogami Kyoko! I..."

"What the hell are you doing?" a snarling voice came through the other line. Ren's eyes widened. Fuwa! "Break's over. They're asking us to come back in."

"What does it look like I'm doing, idiot Shotaro?!" Kyoko cried out. The message became muffled then it dropped again with only a faint remnant of whatever she was telling Fuwa as the last thing he heard.

More urgently, he moved on to the next voicemail message.

Kyoko was with Fuwa. Kyoko was with Fuwa, his thoughts were running through his head. Then he stopped himself. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He knew that Kyoko and Fuwa were at a meeting about the Boost article. He knew that she was with Sawara-san and Matsushima-san and they wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.

"I'm really sorry for leaving two really bad messages!" she announced breathlessly. "This is Kyoko again. I'm being stupid with the phone again. There's something you should really, really know about the Boost article that's going to come out tomorrow! It's really, really, really bad!" Then in a more urgent voice, she continued, "This is terrible! A horrific turn of events. You're involved with it again and... This is a calamity! I may just have ruined your-" Then the call dropped at the end of the allowed time. The voicemail just came in a minute ago when he was checking her other voicemails.

Incredibly concerned about what calamity that could cause Kyoko to ruin his... whatever it was, Ren dialed her number.

* * *

Damn it! Kyoko gritted her teeth at the dropped voicemail when the time ran out. Why can't these stupid things allow more time for people tell important things?

The meeting she had for that stupid Boost thing had lasted for another hour and just ended. Since Ren hadn't called her back about the last two weird messages, it only meant that he hadn't checked his phone yet. He probably wouldn't check it until his lunch break or when he gets home. She was going to see him later in the afternoon anyway for the Kismet shoot so she'll tell him if he didn't check his voicemail by then.

"Hey."

She jumped at the voice from behind her. She gritted her teeth and turned to face Sho. "What?" She jumped again when her phone rang. She turned to it and saw an Unregistered Caller flash on her caller ID. She was just about to answer the call when Sho grabbed the phone from her, rejected the call, then turned it off. "Wha-?" she cried out. "What the hell is your problem!?" She grabbed her phone back and stuffed it in her jeans pocket quickly to get it out of his reach. "It could have been a very important call!"

"THIS is the very important business you should be thinking about right now!" Sho cried back.

"Wh-what?" She raised her eyebrow. "You heard what everyone said. Since the two of us already addressed the majority of the rumors written about us, there's nothing much more we can do about it." Then she crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "If we spend any more time with each other in public, it will only add fuel to the rumor that you're in love with me."

"I am in love with you."

"Hah?" The statement threw Kyoko off. She gritted her teeth in anger. It was another one of his lies. After everything that's happened between them in the last few weeks, she'd become inclined to believe that the two of them could really become friends. Now he was throwing her this crap? She was composing a retort as she turned around, but was taken aback by the expression on his face.

She remembered that look, she thought as she began to think back. The expression on his face looked nothing like the look he had on when he asked her to run away with him to Tokyo. It was the look he had when he's absolutely determined to get whatever he wanted. The last time she saw it was back in Kyoto when he'd have explosive fights with his parents about becoming a musician.

"Kyoko," he moved towards her. "Let's go back to the way things used to be."

"Eh?" she looked up at him.

He raised his hand to touch her cheek. "Just the two of us. Together…" he bent down to her face, but she reflexively raised her hands and pushed him away the moment his lips brushed against hers. For good measure, she jumped back several feet.

"The way things used to be?"

What he was telling her was absurd. Inconceivable! She started shaking angrily. "Are you trying to tell me that I should go back to being that stupid, boring woman who only existed for your sake?" she asked darkly.

"No," he answered. "I-"

"I am never going back to being that person."

"I'm not talking about you going back to being her!" he countered. "I just want the two of us to be together. Didn't we have a lot of fun back then?"

"Do you think," she haltingly said, "after everything I went through after you left me, I'd still find joy in cooking, cleaning and scrimping after you?"

"Like I said, you don't have to do any of those things. Are you even listening?" he argued. "Be an actress. Work to the top with me by your side. Don't you see it? The two of us belong together."

"Hah?" A year and a half ago, if he said those words, she would have probably been the happiest girl in the world. Now, it only made her wonder if there was anything wrong with his brain.

"I'm never going to say that dumping you was the biggest mistake of my life," he continued. "In fact, it made me see you in a totally different light. I didn't know that you could be this beautiful, intriguing, interesting… But it's a tricky world, isn't it? Whether you love me or you hate me, you're always thinking of me. And let's face it, you're not really made for everlasting hatred."

Kyoko didn't say anything. She knew that Sho's last statement was the truth.

"Besides," Sho reasoned. "It's not going to be very hard to go back to the way things were. It's going to be an adjustment with all the changes the two of us made, but you are still the only person I know best. And you will never know anyone better than you know me. We can spot each other a mile away."

"You're wrong," Kyoko softly answered.

"What?"

"190 cm."

"Excuse me?"

"He really stands 190 cm without shoes. The proportions of his head to his torso to his legs are…" Kyoko started reciting all the facts she knew about the person she really knew the best. When she ran out of technical facts, she started on his personality. "He skips meals because he's much more interested in work, but he would eat with me because he can't stand seeing a girl eat by herself. He'd live on a long day of work with only two hours of sleep just so he can help me with acting. He can't sleep without a pillow so he has to borrow my lap to take a nap…"

* * *

Sho gritted his teeth as Kyoko continued to recite more random facts about Tsuruga Ren.

"..his apartment is huge but almost has no personality…"

She'd been to his place??? How many times?? To do what?

"…his parents are probably the weirdest people I've ever met, but he told me that they've already accepted me as their daughter…"

He introduced her to his parents too? Why?? Just how far have those two gone???

"…And don't go bragging about how you can spot me a mile away," she snarled when she finished all of her facts. She straightened up and stared at him. "The gas station."

"What gas station?" Argh! Kyoko's starting to talk about things that overrode the point, Sho thought in panic. This is what he was afraid would happen!

"You don't remember, do you?" she crossed her arms over her chest. "Before I got accepted into LME, I was a gas attendant in a service station when you dropped by. You saw me, our eyes met, and we even shook hands. You didn't recognize me and you apologized telling me you can't remember the faces of all of your fans. Until then I never really thought you thought or knew so little of me. So…, so…," She stammered, stopped, hesitated before finishing with, "You're nothing but a childhood friend who disappeared from my life. I thought that we could be friends when we saw each other again, but that doesn't mean you can just waltz back in my life like you're here to be my savior. Like I always did before, I can manage everything on my own so," her voice rose to shout, "Stop screwing around with me! I still have a score to settle with you, you jerk!"

"Oh…" Sho looked down at her. Thank God, she turned to that. He didn't know how to answer the thing about not recognizing her. So that was what it's all about. "Your revenge…" Then with a wave of his hand, he boredly declared. "Don't worry about it. You win. Game over."

"Wha-?" she squacked, totally surprised by his declaration. "I-I'm at Number 10! May I remind you that you were the one who stated the terms of how I can win? If Number 10 is good enough for you, it's definitely not good enough for me!"

"But it's good enough for Tsuruga Ren though?!" he shouted.

She was startled by the question.

Then he felt it. A feeling he hated the most. A sensation he never experienced with Kyoko even when she hated him: rejection. It was not a feeling he was accustomed to and he didn't care to feel it. So angrily, he shouted, "I'm right, aren't I?" Something inside of him snapped. When it finally hit him that she had gone so far with someone like Tsuruga it made him furious. "So you know him more than anyone does, so what? Do you think that someone like him would be interested in someone like you in the long run?"

Her cheeks flushed and she stammered, "I-I'm not even thinking things like that!"

Liar, it was written all over her face. "Don't you remember?" he said meanly. "He's going off to America. He didn't really ask you to come with him, did he?" No matter what, he was never going to let Tsuruga have her. "Or worse, don't tell me you're actually going there to follow him?"

Then he was off-guard when Kyoko averted her gaze. She was looking into space as though she was thinking about that possibility. What the hell? he thought nervously. The idiot was actually considering the matter!?

"That…" she began. "It… It will make it look like I'm following him, won't it?"

She actually thought about it!!! Stupid.

"Hey…" Sho raised his hand to reach out to her. Something inside of him wanted him to shake her to convince her that she can't be with Tsuruga, but he stopped himself. He suddenly became angry at the thought that she was actually thinking about doing the same thing she did for him. "Then you are nothing but a stupid woman who only has love in her mind," he snarled. "You're an idiot. Not only will it make you look stupid, you're going to hurt your career too. When you go to America and put your career here on hold, what will you do after?"

"That's enough, Fuwa-san." The two turned to see Sawara-san and Matsushima-san glaring at him. The two men walked up between Kyoko. Then Sawara-san turned to him and said, "Everything we do is with Mogami-kun's best interest at heart. Don't worry, we have many years of experience building the careers of many stars in show business. We know what we're doing."

"Let's go, Mogami-kun," Matsushima-san smiled at her. "You still have a shoot to get to, right? It's on the way so Sawara-kun and I will drop you off."

Sho watched as Kyoko's superiors led her away.

"We'll get you some ice cream to cheer you up," Sawara-san encouragingly said.

"Honestly... we let you make one phone call and suddenly you and Fuwa-san are at each other's throats," Matsushima-san commented. "We'll treat you to a parfait at that really nice ice cream parlor near the studio lot. What will it be? The one that looks like Tokyo Tower, or a bullet train, or even maybe a fairytale castle?"

"A castle?" Kyoko perked up.

"Then a castle it is," Sawara-san tried hard to sound enthusiastic.

As the two men led her away like doting uncles spoiling a niece - no, a bunch of distraught assistants pacifying a star to get her to go back to performing, Sho suddenly felt the atmosphere of losing. He felt that this moment was his last chance; if she turned down that hallway, he'll never see her again.

Unless...

"Kyoko!"

His voice was so loud, they had to turn back to him.

"I'm not going to give up, you know," he declared. He didn't care if she was with Tsuruga now. The moment that guy leaves Japanese soil, he will definitely win her back. "We still have a score to settle and when you start seeing things things different, our battlefield will be at the top."

There was a glint in her eyes, an acceptance to his challenge.

Sho cannot let her walk away today with anything less.

* * *

"Are you sure this is OK?"

His editor laughed. "It was a whole lot better than your first draft." She rolled the magazine and tucked it under her arm. "I mean, Fuwa Sho may be mean to reporters like us, but his fans will never believe that he's a heartless jerk until we have at least photographic evidence. And, Kyoko has a reputation for shooting down her detractors. She's a toughie who will never let people trample on her. So, who on earth would ever believe Fuwa Sho would dump Kyoko after hauling her off to Tokyo, making her snap so she wants revenge, causing her to become an actress and is now being chased after by Tsuruga Ren?"

"It was just a thought," he shrugged. With all the research he did, that was a possibility, right? Especially to explain the gap between Kyoto and their debuts. But his editor just laughed in his face.

"And here I thought you can't get any worse from 'Tsuruga Ren is Kuu Hizuri's Love Child' a couple of months ago," his editor laughed.

"It's a possibility!" he cried out defensively. He saw some similarities, but no one believed him and his editor only laughed at him.

"We want readers, not hate mail from angry fans saying they'll boycott our magazine," his editor stretched. "Anyway, good work."

"So what do I do with my Kyoto notes?"

"Save them for another day," she shrugged.

* * *

"I don't think I can handle that girl," Matsushima-kun sighed as they trailed Mogami-kun with their eyes as she crossed the street and disappeared into the studio lot where Kismet was shooting.

"Are you talking about the ice cream?" Takenori turned to him. "Don't worry about it. This is probably the first time I had to bribe her to cheer her up. She must be feeling really bad if she let herself be consoled like that."

"Fuwa Sho must have it bad for her," the head of the acting section rested his chin on his hand. "To want something so badly after he gave up on it. He was practically begging at her feet, asking her to keep him in her mind some more," Then he sighed. "Now I have to add on 'Fuwa Sho sensing powers' to the qualifications I have to look for in her manager. The last time I had this much trouble looking for a manager for anyone was with Ren."

Takenori looked up from his coffee and asked, "You had problems looking for a manager for Ren?"

"Not because of personality compatibility. Ren is capable of getting along with anyone," Matsushima-kun expounded. "I was talking about looking for someone who was able to keep up with his pace. He was the last star in LME who climbed up so high so fast. No wonder he and Mogami-kun get along with each other so well."

"I know," Takenori started playing with the tissue he folded into an airplane while Mogami-kun was heartily eating the parfait they'd treated her to. He and Matsushima-san finished talking to Yashiro-kun when Kyoko didn't come back into the conference room. When they looked around for her, she was looking like she was about to cry while Fuwa Sho was goading her about Ren. "That's why I was amazed when she was practically clinging to us because she always runs to Ren when she's in trouble. Or at the very least, to Kotonami-kun."

He had a teenage daughter of his own. He couldn't understand her either, especially when the reason was over boys. Mogami-kun was slightly older and her situation was totally different. However, if he applied just an ounce of the President's overactive imagination into the equation... If Mogami-kun was having problems and she couldn't turn to Ren - the one person she always relied on at times like this, add the rumors into the mix, then, the only plausible reason was...

"Ah!" Takenori and Matsushima-san cried out in unison. Their eyes met and he knew that they thought of the same thing using the same thought process. Then they let out scattered laughter as he returned to his preoccupation of the paper plane and Matsushima-san to his coffee.

The President's way of thinking was just too outrageous that they thought that far. It was impossible. After all, this was Love Me's Number One girl they were thinking about.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- If it's a wonder why no one sees its iffy that Ren, an adult, is chasing after Kyoko, a minor, take note that in Japan, a girl can get married at sixteen with parents' consent. And according to the Age Of Consent website, the age of consent is waaaaay younger than sixteen. Depending on the prefecture, there is nothing unseemly about a seventeen-year old being in a relationship with an adult. I won't elaborate anymore, but hell, for the purposes of this story, the Boost article never implied anything more intimate than his interest in Kyoko. Argh... I don't want to get into it anymore. I took the information that was useful to the story.

- And yes, I do think Kyoko would have a predominantly male fanbase. When Ren was in Okinawa, two guys were talking about Kyoko and one of them said that he looked her up online just because she looked cute. It's not very unusual for a celebrity to have a fanbase of the opposite sex.

- Next Chapter: Ren, Sho, puppy dog eyes, and blood.


	31. Chapter 31: Kyoko's Decision

**Chapter Thirty-One**

**Acknowledgments: **Runadaemon for the beta-reading.

**Dedications: **Romantic Haberdashery - my beta-reader got really fired up with your last review. She worked double-time on this chapter. :D

Disclaimers apply.

The OOC Express is now boarding.

* * *

Ren hurried over to the last corner of the Kismet sound stage he hadn't looked in. Sure enough, Kyoko was huddled in a corner with her forehead resting on her intertwined fingers with her palms pressed together. "It's OK... It's OK... I'm OK..."

"Kyoko?"

Kyoko jumped, totally taken by surprise, then cried out as she tried to catch whatever she was holding. Ren's eyes softened when the light hit the object and a familiar blue stone changed color. When she finally secured the stone in her hand, she laughed uneasily. "Ren, you scared me!"

"I scared you?" Ren raised an eyebrow. "What about you? You left three incomprehensible messages, then you turned off your phone." Then he raised his hand to stop her. "Apologize later, but tell me now what's going on." He had an idea since Matsushima-san called him right after he'd given up on contacting Kyoko. However, he couldn't seem to connect the news to the calamity Kyoko was talking about.

Kyoko's face suddenly looked troubled. Without another word, she took his hand, led him to her dressing room and closed the door. After securing Corn in a small coin purse, she rummaged through her bag and took out a magazine. The front was against her chest when she bowed as she held it out. "I'm so sorry. You had to be dragged into this mess because I couldn't control my temper at the Tokyo Imperial Herald last month. I am going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

Ren accepted it though he'd been given a reading over the phone. "What?" he teasingly asked, attempting light humor to make her feel better. "Aren't you eloping with me to America? It'll be all over the news by tomorrow."

Kyoko looked up at him. "Ren! How can you joke about something like this?"

"How can you take something like this seriously?" he countered. "You know it's not true, right?"

"But isn't it troublesome?" she whined.

"Mm… it's not something I particularly enjoy doing." Meaning unnecessary things that didn't benefit his career. Or hers. "But I don't mind going through it," he met her eyes and held the gaze. "if it means I can be there for you."

Really, he thought. Declaring his love and asking her to elope? That was far from where he currently stood with her. But for a moment there, he indulged himself with the fantasy... and came up with a blank.

She stared at him for a second, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. "Ren…" Then she started shaking her head. "No, no, this is wrong!" She looked at him and started shaking her finger. "You're thinking of this from the point-of-view of work and it's totally wrong." She stopped and with a set face, she continued, "You should be looking at this from the point-of-view of your feelings. You really don't understand a girl's heart, do you?"

"Eh?" A girl's heart?

"I may be in the Love Me Section, but I'm still a girl you know." she shifted uncomfortably. "As a fellow actor, I think it's great that you can be so cool about the whole thing, but this twisted attitude of yours doesn't even consider the girl you're in love with, does it? Imagine what she would feel if she reads this and misunderstands. You really don't want to answer weird questions like 'But aren't you in love with Mogami Kyoko?', do you?"

Ren was surprised and really didn't know how to answer. Wasn't that what he'd been doing this whole time? Because of all the craziness that was surrounding her, he wanted to be the one to protect and help her. All this time, he'd been very dissatisfied staying on the sidelines, only able to ask her things out of feigned interest in the movie.

"Anyway," she said. "I'm really sorry I worried you over the phone messages. I wasn't really thinking of the work aspect. I was just thinking of you and how you'd react."

Something warm spread through Ren and he let out a small smile. She had been thinking about him, and this time, outside of work. "Do you feel better now?"

"Huh?" she looked up at him.

"Now that you know that the news doesn't really bother me." Ren continued. "You should, you know. The color changed."

"What?"

"The stone." He gestured to her purse where she kept the stone. "When you were about to drop it, it hit the light and the color changed." That meant, all her bad feelings had been absorbed into the stone. Of course, that was something he just made up as a ten-year old. He didn't know if Kyoko still bought the story now that she knew that he was Corn.

"It did?" she asked as a bright smile appeared on her face. "That's great!"

The smile was so sweet that Ren couldn't help but think how cute she was. He slowly lifted his hand, thinking. Now that he knew she thought about him, he might just have the courage to tell her what he really feels in his heart. When he saw her face however, he stopped.

She was still smiling but it looked sad. Her eyebrows were knitted and she looked confused. "What is it?" he gently asked.

She averted her eyes and sighed. "It's nothing," she said. "I'm just tired after the meeting. I was already tired to begin with, then Sho-"

"What did he do?" he asked darkly. If Fuwa did anything to her… "What did he say?" He knew how careless words could hurt and confuse her.

"He…" Kyoko paused. "It's kind of annoying. Because of everything that's been happening, I thought the two of us would end up being friends in the end. Then he started this whole stupid thing just to make fun of me or to torture me. He made jokes about how he's in love with me, and that I finally won, and had my revenge."

The revelation shook Ren. "He… confessed?" he asked disbelievingly. "What did you say?"

She opened her mouth, looked at him, then stopped. Ren looked at her expectantly, knowing she was prone to such things. Knowing her, she was going to explode in a long tirade about how ridiculous his question was and how she will never ever, in a million years, ever consider Fuwa.

But she never said anything.

She just continued to look at him. Slowly, her face turned from confused to terrified. Ren wondered if he was letting his simmering anger show. Why wasn't she saying anything? She didn't really consider Fuwa's confession, did she? She wouldn't do that, would she? But then...

Just what did she tell Fuwa?

* * *

"So it's a gratitude thing!"

"Yes," Satoshi's father nodded. "And that gratitude extends to their children. We were too late to save Chiaki-chan's brother after the boy foolishly placed their family fortune into the business. He was selfish enough not to put everything, and so it wasn't enough to save the business. They lost every bit they used of their fortune. Chiaki-chan's keeping everything afloat for now, but she has too much pride. She won't allow companies to take over and make it a small entity of a larger conglomerate."

"Then give her a loan or get our company to invest in it," Satoshi protested.

"Your grandfather controls everything!" His mother stood up from where she sat. "You know how tightfisted he can be with money because he wants to keep it in the family. Our company's one of those who want to take it over. Chi-chan's backed herself up in a corner and it's only a matter of time before she goes under. We can only help her if she's family!" Then with all the frustration she felt, she grabbed her son's collar and dragged him to meet her eye. "Listen! Chi-chan's mama and I are never wrong! She was right when she said that you'll end up being some playboy hellion once you got a little taste of freedom. We set you up in that omiai because we wanted you straightened up before that happened. Right this moment, Yumemi-chan's husband is setting her up with some big Hong Kong tycoon so she can marry him and save her company. If she was going to marry for money, she might as well marry you."

Kyoko stared at the scene between Satoshi and his family and marveled at how the expression of his face changed from cool indifference to mortification at the prospect that Chiaki was going to be another man's bride.

"Cut!"

Kyoko turned in surprise at the call and listened when Director Shingai said, "Ren, that level of jealousy is too intense. Tone it down a little. Satoshi's only a little jealous because he's just been reunited with Chiaki and hasn't realized that the feelings he had for her haven't gone away."

"OK," Ren nodded.

Come to think of it… Kyoko reflected. Ren did seem too jealous for that scene. A mere threat of a romantic rival for a girl he hadn't thought of for long was not something that needed the kind of jealousy he showed when he first saw Chiaki and her new fiancé together.

Well, she leaned back against her chair. His acting was still amazing. After all, he admitted to her (as Bo) that he'd never been in love until last year so it's a wonder he could have even drawn out that emotion.

Maybe, she playfully toyed with the idea, he had a romantic rival. A rival that was so strong that he felt inferior to him because the other one had an advantage over his girl. Then she laughed in her thoughts. That was impossible! Even if that girl was made entirely of dense and stupid, someone like Ren couldn't possibly be fazed by such a small thing as a romantic rival. Even without that amazing face and body, he has a strong heart and mind. He couldn't be petty enough to feel something silly like jealousy...

* * *

If Aki Shoko were to list her top three doomsday scenarios of all time, she was pretty sure being stuck on a Wednesday afternoon in an elevator from the eighth floor to basement parking level two with Sho, Tsuruga Ren, and his manager would be at the top of that list.

The tension inside the elevator car was rippling through the air. If this kept up, her next doomsday scenario to top off the previous one would happen – having the elevator short circuit because of the crackling atmosphere, which would result in them being in there even longer. She snuck a glance at Tsuruga-san's manager who was leaning opposite her on the back wall of the elevator and instantly knew he felt the same way.

Why didn't she pull Sho back? Shoko agonizingly thought. She knew that Sho's pride was what prompted him to get in the elevator even though it was already occupied by Tsuruga-san! He'd already been in a terrible mood ever since she found him in the hallway after the Boost meeting yesterday. Of course, since the magazine was now in circulation, he'd been plagued by so many people about it. The president of Akatoki Agency wasn't happy about it either and told him straight out that he better come out the winner of this imaginary contest that the stupid gossip columnist wrote.

"Shoko-san," Sho turned to her as he leaned against the left panel. "You really have to talk to the Fuji TV people. The air quality in their elevators has gone bad."

"Yashiro-san," Tsuruga-san ignored Sho's barbed attempt to annoy him as he turned to his manager. He straightened up from the right panel of the elevator. "The schedule's been changed up a lot for the last few days. What's next on the schedule again?"

"Eh?" his manager swallowed. "We head for… the Kismet shoot."

Crap! A forbidden word!

"Ooh?" Tusruga-san looked at his watch. "I hadn't realized it was already two... Won't the shoot start at four?" Before his manager can answer, he sighed. "Well, I guess since we'll be early, we'll have just enough time to eat…" He paused. "…with Kyoko."

Nooo! Shoko wanted to shout out loud. Another forbidden word. She felt the tension double in the elevator.

Thankfully, the bell pinged and signaled the end of Shoko's elevator ride from hell. She let out a breath of relief, knowing the harrowing ordeal was over.

The two guys moved to step out and bumped shoulders. Shoko didn't miss how the two subtly muscled and elbowed each other for a while, neither letting the other get ahead, but it was Tsuruga-san who managed to step out first.

"Hey, Shoko-san," Sho said as he was stepping out.

"Y-yes?" she asked.

"Do you know the disadvantage of having super-long legs like me?" Sho asked as he quickened his usual walking pace to match Tsuruga-san.

"Eh?"

"You walk so fast that you don't see really see where you're going. You might just end up," he stuck his foot out just as Tsuruga-san took another step, "tripping."

Tsuruga-san fell, landed on his stomach, and let out a loud "Oof!"

Shoko let out a horrified cry the same time Tsuruga-san's manager cried out, "Ren!"

The bespectacled man turned to her, looking absolutely furious. He opened his mouth, probably to give her a stern lecture on Sho's inexcusable behavior- when they heard a second "Oof!"

They turned together and saw Sho fall to his knees before completely falling on his stomach. On his ankle was Tsuruga Ren's hand.

* * *

"Wha-?"

Kyoko-chan stood up from her chair and looked at them with a horrified expression as they entered the still-empty common waiting area of the Kismet set.

"What happened?" she cried out.

"It was nothing," Ren answered with his usual good-natured manner.

"N-nothing?" Kyoko-chan disbelievingly repeated. "How can it be nothing? Ren, your lower lip is bleeding!"

It had been bleeding. It dried up by the time they arrived at the studio though. The two men agreed that it was paltry and negligible since it only bled a little and wasn't swelling.

Ren's fall wasn't actually that bad. He claimed that because he landed on his stomach, it absorbed most of the shock before his extremities hit the floor. The scrape on his lower lip was just a small scratch from his teeth. Nothing abnormal. It could have happened to anyone.

It really was shocking when Fuwa Sho tripped Ren. Even as rivals for the top spot in the popularity charts, they had both always maintained a professional and healthy competition. Since the competition was now over Kyoko-chan, it'd become personal. They never said it outright, but Yukihito knew that she could be the only reason for it. He never thought he would see the day when Ren would stoop down to petty acts against a rival to prove his point and mark his territory.

To think, a day would come when Yukihito almost shouted at a woman. Well, it didn't really matter if she was a woman; she was Fuwa Sho's manager and the person she was taking care of did something completely unprofessional. He almost lectured her about her charge's irresponsible actions. Ren's childish retaliation of pulling Fuwa Sho down as well made his argument somewhat pathetic and unnecessary.

"It really isn't that bad, Kyoko," Ren assured her.

Kyoko-chan fussed. "Did… did you go to the hospital?" They shook their heads. "Does it require stitches?" They shook their heads. "Did you clean the wound?" They shook their heads. By the third question, Kyoko-chan's face was red and she furiously turned to him. "Yashiro-san!"

"I'm sorry," Yukihito flinched. "We only had tissues in the car."

Kyoko briefly looked around, grabbed the chair she was sitting on, held it out for him and said, "Sit down, Ren."

"Like I said," Ren repeated. "It's not the kind of injury that requires me to-"

"SIT!" Kyoko barked out the order like a drill sergeant. Her tone was so harsh, Ren immediately obeyed. "I'll be right back!" She turned around and left.

Once alone, Ren turned to him with a blank stare and asked, "Aren't you going to tell her?"

Yukihito was surprised. "Tell her what?"

"You're usually itching to tell her whenever I do careless things." Ren stated. "Aren't you going to tell her why I got injured?"

"Again, I ask, tell her what?" Yukihito drolly asked. "That the all-out war between you and Fuwa ended up being a lame, childish fight in a parking lot? That two grown men ended up tripping each other? Not that I wished for one, but it wasn't even a dignified fist fight. I doubt any girl would find joy in knowing she was fought over using such childish methods. I would have lost all respect for you both if you'd resorted to slapping each other like little girls." In all honesty, when the two of them stood up, they looked like they were really going to go at it, but Fuwa's manager grabbed Fuwa's arm and hauled him off to his next appointment.

Either way, no victor emerged from their little fight. Although Ren had the wind knocked out of him, Fuwa Sho's knees were shaking as he walked off since the impact of the fall was taken through his knees. The only thing everyone was thankful for was that there were no reporters in sight.

"Would you have done it?" Ren suddenly asked, surprising Yukihito. Ren never voluntarily spoke about his feelings without being cryptic. "If she was confessed to by someone you really don't like?"

"Eh?" Fuwa confessed to Kyoko-chan and Ren's jealous about it? Why? It's not like she would ever... would she? This was Kyoko-chan! That was... Fuwa Sho. "Ren," he gently asked. "Was it because...?" No! Kyoko-chan wouldn't have answered Fuwa Sho favorably. There was no way!

However, he never got ask because Kyoko-chan was marching right back to them.

* * *

Kyoko marched back to where she left Ren and Yashiro-san with a first-aid kit in hand.

She set it on the table, and grabbed a cotton ball and disinfectant. She looked at the wound and had to admit that it really didn't look like much. Still… "Geez! It looks terrible," she cried out as she bent down closer to his face. "Ren, you're an actor. I know you're more than just a pretty face, but it's still important in our line of work."

"I already said that it's nothing," he insisted. "Nothing the make-up can't hide or fix."

He was being stubborn, refusing to admit that his carelessness was to blame. "What happened anyway?" she worriedly asked as she poured the disinfectant on the cotton.

"I tripped."

She was about to dab the cotton ball on his lip when she stopped. "You don't trip, Ren."

"I do too," he countered stubbornly. "I just did. You should have seen the other guy." He grinned boyishly and winced as it tugged at his lip.

Exasperated, she frowned up at him. "Don't brag about how lightly you got away with it just because someone else had it worse than you." She lightly dabbed the soaked cotton to his mouth and saw him flinch. Her eye glinted. "It hurts, doesn't it?" she asked.

"No," he answered immediately, looking like he was trying hard to keep a straight face. "It just surprised me."

"Liar, it does sting." It was written all over his face. He just wasn't admitting it. She frowned deeper and started jabbing the cotton to clean off the dried up blood. If he'd ever been in a fight his entire life, he had probably never experienced being on the losing or injured side of things.

Then something absolutely dangerous happened. Something she hadn't seen in months; a thing far more dangerous than Ren's divine smile or the Emperor of the Night…. For every time the disinfectant-soaked cotton touched Ren's lower lip, he looked more and more like a wounded little puppy. By the time she noticed it, an entire litter was looking back at her.

D-damn it, Kyoko cursed herself. He looked so adorable that she wanted to cuddle the little kid who was making that face, scratch his head and tell him that she'll nurse him right back to health. No! She had to hold on to her senses! He wasn't a cute, adorable, endearing, sweet little puppy in desperate need of cuddling!

"Kyoko?"

"Oh!" She was dragged back to the present. She withdrew her hand and set the cotton ball aside. She took out a tube of ointment and held it out to him. "Here, I already cleaned the wound so put some on that thing so it'll heal faster."

There it was again. Little puppy dog Ren. "I won't be able to see it so I might not be able to put it on properly."

"Don't be ridiculous!" she retorted, her cheeks warmed up. "There's no way I'd put it on for you." That would mean touching his mouth… that cute mouth with a pout on it- No! Her wayward thoughts were making her stupid. Even if they're closer than they have ever been, that was too much closeness to be considered polite. She turned and rummaged through her cosmetic bag and produced a small pocket mirror.

Ren pouted some more – causing her to flinch, and he grumpily took it.

"Honestly," she sighed. "Don't think you'll get away with it. I don't understand how you can carelessly trip and expect someone to look after you when your own irresponsible actions caused it."

Ren was slouching on the chair as he squirted a small amount of ointment on his finger and briefly looked up at her. "I got a really cute girl to fawn, worry and hover over me for it," he countered illogically. Then he dabbed the ointment on his lip using her mirror.

"Wha-?" A blush crept on her cheeks. He called her cute? That was impossible! She was not Ren's definition of cute. Obviously, he was talking about someone else. Disappointment settled on her. "I see..." She capped the ointment and placed it back into the first aid kit. "Well, it seems like all my efforts have been wasted for nothing."

"Eh?"

She took out an ice bag and closed the box. "And here I was becoming really worried for you... Now I look like an idiot because you didn't say that someone already looked after you."

"What?"

It was probably someone in Fuji TV where he came from. No girl would ever give up a chance to nurse an ailing Tsuruga Ren back to health. Well, whoever it was, she didn't really do a very good job given the state Ren was in when he showed up.

"Anyway," she straightened up. "I'll go get some ice. It's not swelling, but it's better to make sure so we won't have any problems once we start shooting. I'll be right back." Without another word, she turned around and left.

She returned the first aid kit to a production assistant and went straight to the cafeteria just off the sound stage to get some ice from the proprietor.

Well! So that was it, Kyoko thought furiously as she walked back to the waiting area. Ren was capable of being a shameless flirt. Geez! He really had her hook, line and sinker about some devotion to a girl when he obviously enjoyed being fussed over by an entire swarm of women. If that girl actually existed, she now knew and understood why he never told her anything - Tsuruga Ren was nothing but a playboy!

Wait, wait… she calmed herself down. Ren almost gave up a career in America for that girl, so at least the fact that she existed was established. But, as someone who values loyalty a lot, she secretly hoped that the girl who ends up with him had a short leash. That way he'd change his stupid playboy ways. The fact that he can be easily swayed by other girls made her…

It really…

...gave her hope. That she still had a chance to steal him away like Moko-san told her.

She stopped when she reached the door.

She made her decision.

Whatever feelings she had for Ren would be squished together, placed under lock and key and buried deep in her heart where it would never harm her. If she let these things trouble her, she'd only get hurt because Ren could never reciprocate it. She was no longer delusional or a martyr to love to let her feelings go unanswered – she'd been too hurt and wounded the last time. Ren was her friend and her colleague; if her heart becomes bitter because of him, she didn't think she'd be able to handle not having him in her life.

Kyoko reached out for the door handle and opened the door.

Her selfish heart will just have to adjust because that was going to happen… right now.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Notes:**

- I just wanted to write about puppy-dog-eyes Ren. Indulge me on this filler chapter.

- I'm not sure if Ren would pick a fight with Sho. But it's personal this time! And Sho hit Ren first. Ren's not a pushover. Also, it's not totally out of character since Cain Heel will never strike first, but will retaliate after he gets hit first. I'm not saying Cain Heel made an appearance there since that part's written from Shoko's point-of-view and she probably doesn't know Ren is Cain.

- Thanks to everyone who's been leaving reviews, PMs, etc. I'm astonished that there are still so many people following this story. Oh... the pressure of giving it a good end. - drama


	32. Chapter 32: Ren's Explosion

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

**Acknowledgments: **Runadaemon for the beta-reading.

**Dedications: **Princess Ren, Secluded Sapphire, PoeticDayDreams, A Closet Mangaka, and CrazyAce'n'PokerFace - reviewers who have expressed their utter frustration with Kyoko's innate denseness. Now you now how Ren feels!

Disclaimers apply.

The OOC Express is full speed ahead.

* * *

"Let's have that again," Director Shingai interrupted rehearsal Thursday evening. "Kyoko-chan."

Kyoko looked surprised. "I'm sorry, Director," she apologetically bowed. Then she turned to Ren and bowed again. "Sorry, Ren. I'll definitely nail it on the next one," she declared enthusiastically.

With the way she's acting right now, it's impossible, Ren thought. Kyoko had been fumbling this scene, and not just one specific part.

When she was delivering the line "You're nothing but a childhood friend who disappeared from my life. I thought that we could be friends when we saw each other again, but that doesn't mean you can just waltz back in my life like you're here to be my savior," she was more angry-mad when she should be more angry-sad. He understood that those words hit close to home with her as things that she should be telling Fuwa, but it was wrong for the scene.

Then her acting became mechanical, wooden, and distant respectively on the three times they reached the line, "I was waiting the whole time for you to tell me that you were in love with me."

It was Thursday, his last day on the set. Kyoko will continue to work on the movie until Monday. Kismet will be shooting for another week, but he'll be in Osaka for his guest-starring role in a popular drama by then. He'll only be back on Sunday to attend the TDA then fly off to America for a week. If on the off chance that they have to shoot more scenes happened, it would considerably delay post-production work.

The director commented on the same things he noticed with Kyoko's performance.

He turned to her and saw that the stress was making her look like a cornered animal. At the rate she was going, and the pressure building up on her, she wouldn't be able to perform this critical scene.

"Director Shingai," Ren finally spoke up. Everyone turned to him. "Why don't we take a short break so Kyoko can get her bearings together?" Director Shingai was a straightforward perfectionist and a perceptive man. However, when he was under pressure because of the former, the latter dissolved quickly. "I don't think she'll be able to complete the scene at this rate."

"I-I don't need a break!" Kyoko protested. "I already said I can do it right the next time!"

"He's right, Kyoko-chan," Director Shingai emphatically declared.

"Eh?"

Director Shingai let out a kind smile. "Take a 20-minute break. We'll rehearse it last."

Kyoko looked livid. She looked like she wanted to say something, but resignedly sagged her shoulders and said, "I understand."

She jumped off the elevated platform and walked up to her chair, grabbed her water bottle and her copy of the script. After, she made a beeline to the dressing room area.

* * *

"Did you see that?" a whisper came from behind Yukihito. "Tsuruga-kun just shot Kyoko-chan down and she wasn't happy about it."

Ren! Yukihito furiously turned to the actor as he stepped off the platform. Kyoko-chan was really hurt by what he said! Didn't he see that he just treated her like an amateur!

"It must be hard," another person commented. "Tsuruga-kun's move to America must be taking its toll on them. Neither of them looked happy with each other."

Despite not doing anything to help the rumor going around the set about them being a couple, the mere fact that they're constantly in each other's company on-set and for promotional stuff wouldn't let the rumor die.

"If I was going out with someone who was leaving, I'd be pissed off too."

"But they shouldn't be bringing their relationship problems on the set."

"This is why I don't like working with people I go out with."

Yukihito had had it! Those two should be locked in a room to sort out their problems! He fully intended to head straight to Ren and give him a piece of his mind!

But Ren was gone. He vanished like the wind. He looked around the shooting area and couldn't see a hair of him anywhere.

Now where did he go?

* * *

This was so humiliating! Kyoko dumped the water bottle on the table and sat on the chair.

She already knew she was screwing up the scene and was taking the scolding like a pro. But to be told off by her co-star who was usually so gentle and kind to others when they fumbled was the worst.

Kyoko took some deep breaths to calm herself down. She had to get this right. This was Ren's last day on the set and they needed to get the whole thing right. It was a critical scene. Everything would just look stupid if it ended up being disappointing.

She already passed the hurdle of "You're nothing but a childhood friend…" That idiot Sho threw her off by tormenting her so she used that line before they ended that hateful Boost meeting.

Everyone was wrong. That issue wasn't an opening for her to get around to forgiving him. She almost believed it too! Now, she was determined to work harder to become better than what she was right now. Better than him.

Ugh… she thought in disgust. To think the director couldn't take it anymore and gave her directions on how she should deliver the line… She knew the feelings Chiaki was supposed to have. She just didn't know she was acting furious when she delivered the line.

"I was waiting the whole time for you to tell me that you were in love with me."

That line.

Kyoko knew why she was having a hard time saying it. It would require her to strip off all the defenses she built around her heart to protect it from being hurt again. She was afraid. Afraid that saying it correctly would make her feelings for Ren look too obvious. Afraid that if she lets go of the scene, the feelings she had that locked up already will come out again. Had this scene been done a week ago when she wasn't aware of her feelings for Ren, she wouldn't have any problems with it. She sighed and massaged her temple. This scene was giving her a blessed headache. Why was it... that she thought that she wouldn't have been a problem if Ren wasn't her co-star.

If she ever opened up, it would only cause trouble for herself, because she knew-

"Kyoko."

Kyoko jumped. She didn't even hear the door open or if he knocked.

"What's wrong?" Ren asked like a patronizing person trying to console a child, leaning against the doorframe. "It's just one more scene for us so we can start the shoot."

Kyoko couldn't say it. She would rather die than admit to him the reason. So, she only tried to avoid his eyes.

Then she heard him sigh – a sign she knew to be dissatisfaction on his end. Normally, she would have panicked, but after being undone and humiliated, she said, "You could have at least backed me up, you know."

He was surprised by what she said. "Huh?"

"I already noticed from before." Now that the door was open, she couldn't stop it. "When I was your temporary manager, you were so gentle with Yumiko-san for fumbling one word too many times when you were already having a hard time because you had a cold. In Dark Moon, you were always so nice to Momose-san to put her at ease when you're doing Katsuki and Mizuki's romantic scenes. I screwed up less times, but you only bully me when we're going to do scenes together." She couldn't take it anymore and stood up. "Ren, I know you don't have any respect for me as a person, but you already acknowledged me as an actress, didn't you? Unless I'm wrong about it again. What did I ever do to you that made you act like this towards me?"

Ren just stared at her for a moment. Even though they were already on casual terms with each other, Kyoko knew he was still a senpai at work. He was bound to scold her for being unprofessional by dragging personal issues on the set.

"You're one to talk," Ren answered back.

"Huh?" Kyoko was taken aback. She was one to talk? To talk what? Something popped out her shoulder. She looked up at him and saw that he was angry.

"I realized that I've been very lenient towards you," Ren expounded his weird answer, his tone threaded with acid anger that even the demon on her shoulder refused to greet.

"L-lenient?" Kyoko sputtered out. He mercilessly teased her, belittled her and pushed her to the edge of all her abilities and he thought he was being lenient?

"If someone is special, you'll do anything for that person..." He said as he straightened up.

Special? He was talking about her, right? She wasn't special, unlike him who debuted at seventeen and shot right up to stardom. Even if he met several failures before that, with her goal to match up with him, she'll be old and gray before that happens! Even otou-san lectured her on her vain way of thinking when he was in Japan when she tried to refuse roles because they were that of bullies.

"...It doesn't matter if you're made to look like an idiot, have your ego crushed or end up exhausting everything you have, because you believe that person will all be worth it in the end..."

That's what she thought! She looked up at him and the expression on his face was a combination of anger, frustration and... something that she couldn't read. Something she'd never seen on his face before.

"...I've never asked anything from you that was more than you can give, Kyoko, even if I hate that I have to step back for you. Because, you don't give up on someone who's special."

His last statement hit her hard. Kyoko never really realized it until he told her. She'd been so blind...

Because she couldn't match his level of acting, he always had clever ways of steering her to the right direction. That would mean... he's been putting his pride aside to accommodate her level of talent even if he was frustrated about it. She felt awful about making Ren go through that.

"And while we're on the topic of respect," Ren continued. "I'd like to know why you never bothered showing up at the cafeteria Monday when you said we'll have dinner together."

Monday? She already apologized for that! Quite profusely too, because it cost him skipping a meal under her watch. She frowned up at him. Ren can really be immature after all! She was wrong to believe Ren when he said would never stay angry at a person who admitted their mistake. He was capable of flinging back past offenses as some form of a small grudge.

Of course, when she apologized, she didn't give a reason, and like hell she'd relive the embarrassing moment in her life where she threw herself onto Tsuruga Ren like it would make a difference in her position in his life. But she couldn't think of anything to say so she resorted to the brief, impersonal answer Satoshi used when Chiaki asked him why he never showed up after the school festival bonfire when Yumemi told her that Satoshi was going to confess to her.

"D-didn't it seem obvious why I never showed up?" To strengthen her argument, she added Chiaki's answer, "It was terribly embarrassing to be in a position like that." Once she said the line, she unconsciously continued. "To be made to believe something was going to happen only to be left looking like a fool. Did you know I didn't talk to Yumemi for months because I thought she was playing a heartless prank on me?"

"Why did you go?" Ren answered back with the line Satoshi used for that line.

Kyoko was surprised. Ren's tone, his expression, his body language… he was acting as Satoshi! This was… Kyoko suddenly had a revelation. A mini-rehearsal for the two of them?

He then moved forward towards her and said, "At the omiai, you gave me the impression that I wasn't the person you'd follow through the fires of hell for. Why would you think I'd even consider confessing to you after that?"

Ren, she thought sadly, was still making an effort for her. Even after hurling insulting words at him, he still wanted her to do well. She should… respond well to all the effort he was wasting on her… In order to respond well and not to lose face in front of Ren, she had to risk it.

Chiaki straightened up. "I was already in love with you even before the omiai. I thought because you seemed pleased then and when I heard from Yumemi you were going to confess after the school festival…" She looked up at him. "I thought I could happily accept the arranged marriage." She lifted her hands to his cheeks and forced him to look into her eyes, then breathed out, "I am… waiting for you to tell me you're in love with me, R-" Before she could finish the sentence, she lifted her toes and gave Satoshi a kiss.

A few seconds passed…

Something was wrong, the actress in Kyoko said. While not completely wrong since Satoshi kissed Chiaki at this point of the story in the book, the movie script never said anything about kissing Satoshi for this scene.

Her mind flew to that time in Hong Kong when Director Shingai was giving her points of what made an R-12 movie.

"Since we're filming an R-12 movie… we just wanted to make the atmosphere more than suited for the mood of the scene. And actually," Director Shingai's face popped into her head. "The NG was for…"

NG!

Kyoko's eyes popped open. She was, she observed, kissing Satoshi. No… she was kissing Ren!

…And the line was "I WAS waiting THE WHOLE TIME for you to tell me that you WERE in love with me." Not, "I AM waiting for you to tell me you'RE in love with me," her memory belatedly added.

* * *

He completely underestimated Ren, Yukihito thought as he leaned against the wall beside the open door of Kyoko-chan's dressing room.

True to form, his way of showing his belief in Kyoko as an actress was something only suited for her. Kyoko-chan never responded well to the generic kindness he showed to everyone. Weirdly enough, only she can reach out and respond well to Ren's blistering nature.

He almost got worried when he heard their raised voices as he approached the dressing room. Then he heard the words they've been unsuccessfully rehearsing, so he didn't want to interrupt. Because when he peeked, Ren was acting with more gusto than during the rehearsal – a conditioned response Ren had when he was into a scene because his acting was stimulated by the person he acting opposite to.

Still… he sighed as he started to move away from the dressing room back to the set. He wished Ren could easily reach out to Kyoko-chan the girl rather than Kyoko the actress. The Boost article he was shown earlier should really become a reality. It was mean, knowing what he knew about Kyoko and Fuwa Sho's past, so he knew Ren asking Kyoko to come with him to America would only be wishful thinking.

"Nnn…"

Yukihito curiously turned around at the loud "Nnn…" that came from the dressing room. Then was shocked at the sight of Kyoko-chan running out with a look of horror on her face, shouting, "Noooooo!"

* * *

_"I am… waiting for to tell me you're in love with me, Ren."_

The words kept echoing in his head every idle moment he had on the set.

After Kyoko caused a ruckus on the set when she ran out on him, Kyoko declared that she was ready to do the scene and had been the pro that she was. Because of the delay she caused, they'd been shooting without breaks. Ren's eyes trailed her as she talked to Director Shingai. He was so close to answering her before she ran out. It was so cute that he almost felt bad for wording and delivering his confession so crudely to her. Of course, that was spontaneous and brought on by the pent-up anger he had inside.

At least now, he knew how she answered Fuwa.

To think, this all came from her being stuck on how to complete the scene...

The scenes they shot together were electric and the chemistry was so explosive, it might be a little too much for an R-12 movie - Director Shingai's words and the director couldn't be more pleased with their performances. Out of it, whenever Ren met Kyoko's eyes, he felt it.

_"I'm waiting... Ren."_

That was real, wasn't it? Her lips were so warm... it couldn't have been something he just imagined. With the way the two of them were acting around each other, he couldn't have imagined it. If they get too close to each other now, he won't be able to stop himself. But things like that were best said in private, not to be made into a public spectacle. And from the shy way she looked at him, he knew she felt the same way. Not to mention she was so damn cute.

He straightened up and promised to himself that he will say it properly when they get to be alone after work. It was only ten-thirty. They both don't get off until one. Never in his whole life had he ever wanted a day of acting to end so badly. NEVER!

"Ren! Yashiro-san!" she called from several feet away. When she got their attention, she bowed. "I'll be heading off! Have a safe trip and see you when you get back from Osaka."

Heading off? Ren thought in panic, the aura of calm in his head sudden met tornado, as he walked towards her. Why? He noticed for the first time that she was back in her regular clothes and was carrying her things.

"Eh? You're leaving?" Yashiro-san whined, echoing Ren's thoughts completely. "I thought you'd be here til one like us."

"I finished all my scenes except for the one with Vincent-san because he left early for another job so Director Shingai said we'll do that tomorrow. I need to head back to the office. Sawara-san, Matsushima-san and I have a conference call with a movie production company at eleven."

"This late?" he asked, not being able to stop himself from blurting out anything anymore. This was the first time in a very long time he had a selfish thought of having her stay and she can't on this one critical moment in their lives?

"It's the only convenient time for both parties since I'm a late addition to the cast and I'm needed there Wednesday," she explained. Their eyes met briefly and she blushed before looking away. Then she jumped when her phone rang, looked at the number and bowed again. "That's the driver. I'll be going now..." Then she turned around to the direction of the exit.

"I'll see you on Sunday, right?" Ren asked, stepping forward, wanting to come after her. "I'll pick you up at five."

"Um..." she hesitated. "OK." And with that, she scurried out the exit.

Damn it! he cursed himself. He just lost his chance for the day, and knowing Kyoko's personality, possibly forever. But...

_"I'm waiting... Ren."_

"What?" he asked sternly, sensing his manager was hovering curiously around him.

"Kyoko-chan's your date?" Yashiro-san asked disbelievingly. "To the T.D.A.?"

"What's so surprising about that?"

Yashiro-san's eyes widened. Then he conspiratorially moved forward. "Ren, what exactly is your relationship with Kyoko-chan now?"

He let out a chuckle. "Who knows?"

He'll find out Sunday.

* * *

_"I'm waiting for you to tell me you're in love with me, Ren."_

Kyoko wished she was dead.

Not only had she physically assaulted Ren and not apologized properly for it... Really, how can anyone apologize for something like that? Now, she has also practically begged him to fall in love with him. Even if Ren misinterpreted what she said, this would probably end up causing another terrible misunderstanding between them. And she hasn't even apologized for wasting all his efforts to help her either.

She felt it all over the set once they started the shoot. Thank God she was working with a pro.

But once they got out of a scene, she felt a jolt every time their eyes met. Something strange was happening to him - he was emitting dangerous currents – and they were directed at her! She had been avoiding him all evening because she knew that if she got too close, she was going to die.

Argh! She writhed in agony in the backseat of the car that was driving her to LME. She was so stupid! She'd just gotten close to Ren and now she's probably ruined everything between them.

It was a good thing he was going away to Osaka. At least, he'll have a couple of days to cool off. Hopefully, when he returned, he'll be back to his normal self. She didn't know if her demons would be able to protect her from that strange current Ren was emitting.

Her demons. They haven't shown up since the first time she realized she was in love with Ren. Not even with Sho - don't they care about him anymore? The only time it happened was when Ren started lecturing her about the hardships he endures being her co-star before their mini-rehears-

Her brain jolted at the embarrassing moment she never wanted repeated or replayed in her mind again. She grabbed her head and tried to furiously shake the thought out of her brain.

"Kyoko-sama, are you alright?" the driver asked worriedly.

How the hell was she going to face him on Sunday?

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- Movie/TV show ratings are more technical than people think. There is a limit to the number of kissing (technical) or how much nudity (subjective) or brutality (subjective) to every category. This is the reason why some book-to-movie adaptations would omit certain scenes to be considered appropriate to a certain rating. If you watch live-action J-dramas or GP-/PG-rated Japanese movies, you'd notice that kissing scenes are very limited, if there are any at all. As for anime… well, there's a reason why they're shown at one or two in the morning.

- If you're wondering why Kyoko used the line Satoshi used when she and Ren were having the argument, reference back to Chapter 18 of the manga about how a person who cannot think of an answer when a scene is changed will use a line that she's used to. Considering that part of the script has been re-written in Chapter 29, Kyoko has been doing nothing but studying it and memorizing it. She even used the line on Sho when she rejected him.

- I'm so glad I received so much grief about not letting Ren and Kyoko realize their feelings for each other because it's the perfect opportunity to release this chapter. Well, they confessed. Of course, I'm still trying to keep it all in their personality. I hope. At least, Ren now knows how Kyoko feels and didn't misread it, right?

- Next Chapter - Sunday


	33. Chapter 33: Seiichi's Good End

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

**Acknowledgments: **Runadaemon for the beta-reading and all the other add-ons that gave this chapter much more sense.

**Dedications: **To every reader who is expecting a romantic ending. Know this... the story's genre is HUMOR

Disclaimers apply.

The OOC Express is getting to the end of the ride. This is a very looooooooong chapter.

* * *

"Kyoko-chan!"

Kyoko turned around and saw Best Actress winner, Momose Itsumi-san. She and Oohara-san were standing a few feet away, waving her to them.

She turned to Ren and Director Ogata and bowed to them as she excused herself.

It was a good night for Dark Moon. As many predicted, the drama, Director Ogata, Tsuruga Ren and Momose Itsumi won in their own individual categories among others. However, Kyoko won by an upset to the favorite for Best Supporting Actress, another LME actress Kamio Kimiko-san. She was so shocked, she couldn't remember what she said in her speech.

"Kyoko-chan~!" the two girls excitedly greeted her. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Kyoko shyly answered. This was bad… Momose-san was the more important actress here, she should have been greeted first. How was she supposed to know the two would ambush her with the congratulatory greeting first? "Congratulations on your win too, Momose-san."

"Thanks!" Momose-san cheerfully replied. Then with a perky expression on her face, she moved closer to her and asked, "Hey, is it true that Tsuruga-san is your date tonight?"

"N-no," she waved her hand to deny it. "I only asked him by mistake. I was so happy about the nomination and so grateful to him for helping me out with Mio when I was having problems with her that I just blurted it out."

"Eeeeeehhhhhh?" Momose-san pouted, disappointed. "Then why did Oohara-san say there were rumors flying around the set of your movie that the two of you were dating?"

"Oohara-san!" Kyoko turned to her in protest.

"I told her they were rumors," Oohara-san defensively answered. "I didn't say they were true because I don't know if they really are!"

"So which is it?" Momose-san wanted to know. "There's so much gossip about you lately that I don't know what to believe."

"What are you ladies talking about?" a voice from behind them asked.

The trio were startled. "Tsuruga-san!" Momose-san and Oohara-san exclaimed the same time Kyoko blurted out, "Ren!"

Momose-san stared blankly at Kyoko and repeated, "'Ren'?"

Ren gave the best actress a charming smile. "Momose-san," he said. "Congratulations."

Momose-san gawked at her lack of protocol since Ren was the more senior of the two. "Congratulations to you too, Tsuruga-san!" she said with an embarrassed laugh. Oohara-san followed suit.

"Well," Ren graciously answered. "I wouldn't have been able to act out the kind of Katsuki that I have if I didn't have such a great co-star to work with." Then he turned to Kyoko and Oohara-san. "Of course, we wouldn't have been able to do that if we didn't have such great actors to act as our villains."

Amazing, Kyoko thought. With one sweeping statement, he managed to cover all grounds and acknowledge everyone in the conversation to the point that they felt flustered and flattered.

As did she and Oohara-san who played Misao, Momose-san blushed furiously at the flattery that Ren gave. "Well, I guess, my win was also because I got to act opposite a great actor like you, Tsuruga-san." She grinned at Kyoko and Oohara-san. "Of course, I too wouldn't have been able to do it if Oohara-san wasn't so mean with her Misao and Kyoko-chan wasn't so evil as Mio."

So… she figured. This was how first-rate actors do it. Kyoko made a mental note.

"Um…" Momose-san turned to Ren, her cheeks pink. "Tsuruga-san?"

"What is it?"

With a determined look on her face, emboldened by the fact that Ren was relating to her in such a relaxed manner, she looked up at him. "Kyoko-chan won't tell us and is being so vague about it…"

Ren looked at Momose-san curiously. "Mmm?"

"Is she your date?"

Nooo! Kyoko felt like the floor open up under her feet. What the hell did she mean that she was being vague about it? She said it in the plainest words possible!

Ren let out a small smile. "Yes she is." Their two Dark Moon co-stars turned to him in surprise. Then he turned to her and flashed that divine smile that made her stare at him in wonder. "She was the one who asked me, too."

"Tsuruga-kun!" Kijima Hidehito-san called out to him. He was standing with some of the male cast and motioned to Ren to join them.

"Excuse me," Ren turned to the girls. Then to her. "Kyoko, what time do you want to leave?"

"Leave?"

"We still need to go to the LME party at the President's home," Ren reminded her. "Maria-chan will be disappointed if you don't show up."

He meant that Maria-chan will be disappointed if HE didn't show up. She was looking forward to the LME party more because the taisho, the okami-san, and of course Moko-san would be there. However, she didn't know what was the most polite timeframe they should stay at the Dark Moon party before they can leave.

"Maybe at midnight?" Ren asked. "Two hours should be fine. Enjoy the party first. It's your night too."

"OK," she nodded. "If I can't find you, let's just meet at the side entrance near the parking lot."

"Sure," he smiled. "I'll be waiting… Kyoko." Then with that, he turned around and joined the men.

Nyooooh…. She internally shouted. He said it! The embarrassing line she told him when she assaulted him in her dressing room last Thursday. It wasn't exactly the line, but the way he said it was exactly the way Chiaki said it to Satoshi when they were having their mini-rehearsal.

It'd been that way since she left the Kismet set Thursday night - Ren called her up at one to ask her if she got home safe. Althroughout Friday and Saturday, he'd been stalking her through the phone with voicemail messages 'greeting' her or just checking to see how she was doing, and on the one call she answered, he talked about his day and asked her what she did with hers - not that it happened some scary stalkerish number of times (it was only two days), but it was weird, considering that Ren was the perpetrator.

Things didn't really get better; he looked really pissed off when he picked her up, but quickly covered it up when he saw her. After, she had been relying on him like a crutch because she knew nothing about awards show protocol. Once he had his superstar mask on for their arrival at the hall for the awards, things went back to normal.

"Kyoko-chaaan~!" Momose-san and Oohara-san squealed as they moved closer to her. "You shameless flirt!" Momose-san said while laughing. "Don't tell me you and Tsuruga-san aren't going out! It's very obvious now."

Maybe they were just reading too much into it. These were Momose-san and Oohara-san after all! Momose-san has misread her relationships with Ren, Sho, and even that Beagle guy; and Oohara-san who only saw things through fangirl eyes.

'This was the worst!' She agonized. Not only is she being tortured by Ren, she has also been called a shamless flirt by someone she considered to be a friend.

This was going to be the longest night of her life.

* * *

To any man, the evening would be considered a perfect one – spending it with a girl he loves on such a happy occasion.

To Ren, it could have been better.

That morning, his flight back to Tokyo got delayed by several hours because of technical failure. After the second hour of delay, Yashiro-san was pulling strings to get him on the next bullet train when the plane was announced ready to board.

He arrived back in Tokyo to a major car pile up that delayed him considerably. He decided to go straight to his appointment with Jelly Woods while Yashiro-san went to his apartment to get his suit. He just missed seeing Kyoko at Jelly's place and sulked about it. Then he was told off by Jelly because "girls need loads of time to prepare" for such a night.

When he finished, traffic cleared up considerably and he was barely on time to pick up Kyoko at the Daruma-ya. On the off-chance that the taisho closed the door on him, by that point, he was ready to break it down and take on the old man.

He swore... he will never look down on Yashiro-san's abilities for extreme fanboyism ever again.

But it was worth it after finally seeing Kyoko, who claimed that she felt like a princess in the gown given to her by the fairy queen and after being prettified by the witch. If Ren translated it correctly from Kyoko-ben, the dress was from his mother, hair and make-up by Jelly Woods. The hard-to-acquire appointment with Jelly was his present for her nomination, but he was surprised that his mother got her something too.

Once in the car service LME provided to all actors attending the event, she nervously admitted that she knew nothing about award show protocol, so Ren spent the drive giving her a quick rundown of things to expect.

And of course, he didn't have a chance to be alone with her when they arrived to the event. She was ecstatic when he won and he had nothing but quiet pride when she got up on the stage to accept hers.

The Dark Moon party surrounded them with lots of familiar people. To his disappointment, they even got separated.

Of course, the situation worsened when they got to the LME party.

"And we have a winner!" Maria-chan happily announced in the Takarada game room that LME's younger set took over. The more formal party in the ballroom nearby was a little too stuffy for their comfort. "Who else could figure out how to win Seiichi's heart than Ren-sama! Kyaah~! And in under 30 minutes too!"

"What?" The President cried out, pushing through the crowd that gathered around Ren as he played the love-sim game Maria-chan charmed him into playing. President Takarada grabbed his collar. "I've been playing this game for months and I couldn't get a good end with Seichii!" he complained over the happy BGM that played in the background. "How the hell has a romantic failure like you been able to finish it?"

"It really wasn't that hard," Ren admitted. Now he knew who Seiichi was.

"Mogami-kun," the President tearfully turned to Kyoko as she stood by the two other members of the Love Me Section. "You're his date! If he took that route, would it have worked on you?"

Kyoko was staring at them with a deadpan look. "That's it?" she asked in a tone that belittled Ren's victory. "You go through a random series of events like making lunch boxes, tripping to show your underwear and crying in the rain because you lost your kitten and that wins a man a girl in the end?"

Amamiya-san and Kotonami-san nodded empathically.

"So shallow," Kotonami-san interjected with a breath of frustration. "Because the President chose this game, I thought it would have more depth."

"They won't last a week," Amamiya-san scoffed. Then she caught herself and stiffened from where she stood, as did Kyoko and Kotonami-san.

Ren knew why…

"B-but they're still in high school, aren't they?" Kyoko stammered. "It's probably an innocent kind of love."

"Ri-right!" Kotonami-san seconded with a forced laugh. "Not all love stories are made for high drama. There are some stories that just happen because the guy just finds a girl so adorably cute."

"Tsuruga-san just proved to everyone that he has an innocent heart when it comes to love," Amamiya-san said with seemingly forced enthusiasm.

Ren couldn't hide his amusement and smirked.

The Love Me Section, a cluster of promising young girls who have missing emotions in their hearts, shunned a game that focused on love. Ren had to admit, what he did in the game would have probably worked if he was twelve, not as the sixteen-year old like his character, and let alone as a twenty-one year old man. But the President who adored love at any level had, as predicted, been reduced to tears by the girl's statements.

"Th…" the President began. "That's true." Then, he raised his fist and shook it with conviction. "I will ensure that Japan will be educated on what real love is like through the game industry." He pointed at the three. "Amamiya-kun, starting tomorrow, you will be sitting down with me to create a story board for a proper love-sim game."

Amamiya-san helplessly gawked.

"Mogami-kun, Kotonami-kun," he continued. "Don't think that just because you're getting out of the Love Me Section that you're saved from this. By special order from the President of LME Productions, the two of you will be spending all your free time working as consultants to this project. I want the perfect love-sim game themed after complicated girls on the production line within eight months!"

As the rest of the crowd gathered, Ren threw an exasperated look at the President and one of sympathy to the three girls who started wailing and crying out like banshees.

"Nooo~!"

* * *

Kyoko spent the next hour huddled in a corner with Moko-san and Amamiya-san, cursing their fate.

A love-sim game? What the hell? She thought blindly as she weaved through the crowd of people. It was almost four in the morning and the place was still packed. She doesn't even have a portable gaming console.

"Tsuruga-san hasn't left yet, has he?" she heard one guest asked. "Everyone's still here because they were planning to see him off."

"He must be taking his time since this is probably his last party in Japan," another chimed. "Anyway, I asked him earlier and he said he couldn't leave without finishing some important business."

Come to think of it, Kyoko craned her neck. She hadn't seen him since the love-sim game contest. Knowing well that the guests of the party included many important people here and abroad, he was most likely meeting them and networking. After all, he was one of LME's showcase stars.

"Kyoko," a familiar voice came up from behind her.

"Ren!" she turned around in surprise. "I was looking for you!"

"Really?" He grinned boyishly. "Why?"

Really… why was she? "No reason."

He smiled and asked, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure," she nodded, standing attentively, ready for what he had to say.

"In private," Ren said, holding out his hand.

"Oh." She took his hand. "Ok."

Ren led her out to the gardens, but there were many guests – mostly drunk, were loitering around. The hallway was the same thing.

"This isn't working," he sighed. Kyoko jumped as the tone hinted at a little anger and a lot of frustration.

Oh no.. Kyoko's thought ran. This was a dreaded moment. Just when she thought she'd just been given a pass, the weird current was coming back. Ren, she thought, was going to kill her. He did bring her to the gardens first – mostly likely so he can hide the evidence and bury her remains under the rosebushes.

"Up here." He squeezed her hand and led her up the staircase to the galleries that ran along the hallway and ballroom below. It was empty now, but Kyoko remembered it to be where hoards of cheerers greeted entering guests during the Happy Grateful party.

She had a hard time keeping up with his long strides. Halfway up, he finally let go of her hand so she could properly climb the stairs in her long gown and heels. He took a deep breath when he reached the landing and he turned to her as she took the last step.

The way he was looking at her made her nervous. They stared at each other for at least a minute without saying a word. The feeling was creepy and Kyoko couldn't stand the silence. She had to break the ice and hopefully cool down whatever was bothering him.

"Did you eat?" she blurted out. Then, she cursed herself at the bad question since it always started a small argument between them.

He looked surprised but nodded. "I ate at the Dark Moon party."

"You had a handful of canapés and drank the wine like it was water," Kyoko frustratingly countered. Now that he said something she couldn't ignore, she couldn't stop herself. She already knew his flight got delayed and he went straight to Jelly-sama's place. She let her fear about what happened Thursday get to her too much. "If I knew this was going to happen, I should have asked you to eat something at the Daruma-ya. A salaryman-sized beef bowl was still better than just canapés." Then she sighed. "Why can't you be a little more like the Ishibashi-onii-sans? When I'm with them, I turn around for a second and all the food disappears."

Then she caught herself for criticizing him. Stupid! Kyoko scolded herself. What a way to stir up a sleeping lion! Why didn't she just hand over her will and commit ritual suicide like a proper Japanese person would?

"Any…way…" she tried to change the subject as one last attempt to save herself from certain death. "Oh, the President told us that we'll be meeting our managers tomorrow afternoon. Since we have much more work now, he said that Moko-san and I will need to have them with us."

"Really?" he answered. "That's great. So that means when we see each other again, you won't be a member of the Love Me Section anymore."

"Well… technically," Kyoko shrugged. "President Takarada never really gave us a hard date when that will happen."

"Did you enjoy your evening?"

"Yes!" she excitedly nodded. She enjoyed bring able to dress up like a princess, be with all the important people who gave her all the good memories she now treasured and… she looked up at him through her eyelashes. And, she was able to spend it with him.

Tsuruga Ren, one of the most difficult guys she'd ever encountered in her entire life. Her prince. The one who showed her what it was like to love… acting, would disappear from her life after tonight when the spell was broken. Even if he was coming back next week if he decided to stay in Japan, he will never become hers. She'll take whatever magic the evening brought, bury it at the back of her heart and allow it to be one of her most precious memories. One that will never hurt her.

"Then," he cheerfully asked. "Can I have your Love Me record book?"

"Eh?"

"Don't tell me you didn't bring it," he said. "I saw it in your purse in the car when one of the Ishibashis called to congratulate you."

Of course she brought it. This event was work-related and she was a representative of LME. Well, no one really asked for it so far, but…

She gasped. For Ren to ask for it… it can only mean…

"That's cruel, Ren!" she protested. "I didn't know you were going to rate me as a date! This is the first time I've ever been on one so you can't expect everything to be perfect!" She made him miss a meal. She left him alone so she could mope. She had so much fun that she became an inattentive date. All the things that she did during the evening that made her a crappy date started haunting her. Knowing how stingy Ren can be with giving out stamps, this precious memory would be tainted with imperfection!

"That's rude," Ren frowned. "I don't know what kind of people you have around you, but I don't hand out scores to girls I go out with." He held out his hand. "Since you're leaving the Love Me Section, I just want to make sure you're credited with the 100 points you deserved."

Liar, she wanted to shout out.

"Well?" he pressed.

With her lower lip quivering, she rummaged through her purse. Before she thrust the heart-shaped book into his hand, she asked, "You didn't really bring the stamps for the purpose of scoring me, did you?"

"I think they'll still consider it even if I just wrote it down using a pen," he answered smoothly.

Kyoko watch with trepidation as Ren wrote. He was definitely going to get back at her for everything she'd done to him.

"Here," Ren gave her a wide smile as he handed back her book.

She snatched it and didn't want to bother looking at it. She wanted to preserve this memory. She stuffed the record book in her purse and asked, "So what was it that you wanted to tell me in private that you had to drag me all over the place?"

"Kyoko," he smiled and a ray of that divine light nearly blinded her. "Remember how you kept bugging me to tell that girl I'm in love with how I feel?"

Something inside her heart hurt. It was like a splinter stabbing it over and over. She wanted to cry out that she didn't want to hear it. The only reason Ren was telling her these things was because she pushed him into it. She didn't want to hear it... but he was telling her something very important to him so she managed a short nod, "Umn."

"I think I should really tell her how I feel before I leave."

"Umn," she nodded again. Stop it, she thought out loud. She had prepared for the day to come. She just wished he wouldn't tell her personally. She would cry and make herself look like an idiot. Or worse, she might end up telling him that she's in love with him and they wouldn't be friends anymore because of it.

"Kyoko," he said. "I'm a little scared."

This was painful. Being the one to assure him that everything will be alright when he was feeling vulnerable when SHE was the one who was pining for him.

"Scared of what?" she crossed her arms. "Your past?" Well, she never really got into the full details about his past. She'd missed the opportunity to let him talk about it when she found out, but she was pretty sure there was something there. She doubted that the girl could possibly reject him. "I'll tell you about the past. Once upon a time, a year and a half ago, I joined show business to get my revenge. I met an evil demon who told me I shouldn't be so confident because it takes a whole lot more than guts to get me through everything..."

"Why am I an evil demon in this story?" he butted in dryly.

"It's rude to butt in, Ren... Anyway, how's that for an embarrassing past? I don't think I need to continue since you know the rest of the story."

"Actually," he tilted his head, "you got me curious about this demon. What about him?"

"He was awful! He was a meanie with no sense of delicacy towards a clueless newbie. I kept a picture of him on my bedroom wall so I had something to shout at when I was angry at him." Then she froze. Crap. Did she just say that? Kyoko snuck a peek at Ren who was not hiding his gaping, wide-eyed stare. To divert of her last statement, she continued, "Anyway, he was a bully, then my co-star, my mentor, my senpai, my protector, my friend... In the end, he ended up being my fairy prince."

She looked at Ren for a long moment. He was looking back at her with astonishment on his face. "You really are, Ren," she said with a sad smile on her face. "And you're going back to your world again."

"Without a princess?"

Again, the stabbing pain. "Why are you trying to put another girl in my story?" she whined. "Go make up your own fairytale. I thought of this story and it doesn't need your harem in it." Because in her story, she ended up with Ren... but she didn't need to tell him that. That was just for her private delusions. "I'm only telling you this because you asked for the background of the evil demon. I'M the princess in this story!" Well, not exactly the princess, but the kind-hearted innocent maiden.

"Yes, you are." He was laughing when he stepped forward, but his face became serious when he bent down and met her eyes. "Mogami Kyoko, I am in love with you."

"Eh?" Wha-?

She didn't even finish the thought because Ren bent down and kissed her softly on the lips.

* * *

Ren lifted his head and stared into her eyes. He held his breath for her answer.

She was just staring right back at him, bewildered and looking at him like a deer in headlights.

At least this time around, she didn't talk about death or demons or how everyone's going to die, nor had she ran out on him.

Something at the pit of his stomach sank when she continued to stay silent. However, demanding an answer would just scare her away – he'd already done a bit of that by finally telling her. So, he smiled into her eyes and asked, "Will you give me an answer when we see each other again?"

She only blinked, but managed to slowly nod her head.

Happy that he got at least that, he straightened up and turned to walk away.

He promised Yashiro-san that they would leave at four. Because of the problems he encountered that morning, he still hadn't packed and they needed to be at the airport by seven to catch his flight.

As he slowly descended down the staircase, his heart started to sink where his stomach has gone when Kyoko made no move to call him back.

No, he shook the sinking feeling away. He couldn't have been wrong. This was Mogami Kyoko he just confessed to. This is something normal, not alarming. He could have said something smooth or cheesy, but how could he ever top what she just told him? And whatever he elaborations he'd say was never going to be accepted by his princess. In fact, she would probably have given him her adorable deadpan stare if he'd dared.

He needed just one last reassurance from her, he decided when discontent still plagued him. Then he'd be able to go to America with a clear mind.

* * *

Wh-WHAT THE ****! Kyoko thought wildly when she finally managed to move, minutes after Ren disappeared from her sight.

The crowd erupted into cheers as she knew that many of the people who stayed were there to see Tsuruga Ren off.

Ren just confessed to her. How? Why? Her life wasn't charmed enough that all she could make a wish and have it come true a week later! She always had to work hard for everything that she was getting and this practically fell onto her lap? What the hell? What about that girl he was in love with? That girl… that girl couldn't possibly be her?

This has got to be a joke.

That girl was mature, beautiful, intelligent, witty and all those things that she always envisioned for the girl that would win the heart of Tsuruga Ren. And he did say that girl were all of those things. So it couldn't be her!

_"Mogami Kyoko, I am in love with you."_

One kiss after saying that, and her demons were running wild again? It wasn't even their first kiss. He really was the demon lord! He broke the spell and her demons woke up again because they were happy that daddy came back and gave them hope. They'd been pretty dormant since she realized she was never going to be with Ren. They couldn't even be there for her when she faced Sho. And now that she was getting her wish? Now what? Was she supposed to spend the rest of her life nursing dying demons because she'll always be with someone who flashes a divine smile?

_"Will you give me an answer when we see each other again?"_

This was bad! She buckled under the pressure that was pushing down on her and she crouched on the floor.

She should have told him! she thought as she writhed on the floor. They weren't going to see each other next week… After she meets her new manager, she'll be finishing her last evening on the Kismet set. Then... Then...

What was she gonna do? Things were moving too fast!

* * *

"What the hell?" Kanae reached the top of the stairs and saw her best friend ruining a gorgeous designer gown by being on the floor like that. She walked over to her and scraped her off. "Chiori-san! I need help with this."

Chiori-san gaped at the sight of Kyoko. "What happened to her?"

"Don't tell me you're not used to it yet," Kanae finally got her off of the floor. Then she turned to scold Kyoko. "Listen to me, Kyoko. President Takarada asked us to look for you. You should be there to see Tsuruga-san off."

"I don't know what to do anymore…" Kyoko muttered as her knees buckled when Kanae let her go to see if she could stand up.

"Damn it, Kyoko-san," Chiori-san put Kyoko's arm around her shoulders. Kanae followed suit and the two of them nodded as they led Kyoko to the top of the stairs.

But it was impossible. Since the bottom of the staircase was at the hallway that led to the doors where Tsuruga-san was exiting, it was already littered with crowds of people that were seeing him off.

"Oh like hell I'm not going to complete this request as a member of the Love Me Section!" Chiori-san cried out. "I'm going to see the President tomorrow! He'll give me grief if I don't at least do this task."

"Me too," Kanae fumed. She was already going to be wasting time playing a love-sim game. She looked around for somewhere they could get down from and spotted the other end of the gallery which overlooked the door itself. She motioned to Chiori-san and they led her there.

Once Kyoko was on the spot, she held her hands on the rail for support. She looked like she was going to disintegrate.

"Kyoko," she gritted her teeth. She pointed as Tsuruga-san as he moved towards the door. "Just call out to him and wish him luck." The hall was noisy with all the well-wishers, but Kyoko had a loud voice that would carry from the elevated position they were in. Tsuruga-san was distracted by all the people who were greeting him and since where they stood was not part of the party venue, he wouldn't know where they were.

Then Kanae was surprised when he looked up. H-how did he know that they were standing there? "Kyoko!" he called out in a loud voice that echoed through the hallway, halting everyone's chatter.

What the-? Kanae stared at the actor, waiting to see what he was going to do as did everyone else in the hall. Her eyes slowly turned to Kyoko as she looked down with a dazed expression on her face.

Then Tsuruga-san smiled and called out, "Will you wait for me right here until I come back?"

Kanae let out a strangled cry as the shock bounced through the hallway. Everyone was gasping and gawking at what he just said, their heads whipping back to look at him. Anyone in their right mind would know that Tsuruga Ren-san has just practically confessed to Kyoko. No... Asking her to wait for him until he came back? That was DEFINITELY a confession!

Once the fact settled in the people's minds, everyone turned to Kyoko in unison as the ball landed on her side. They held their breath in anticipation as to how Japan's rising star was going to answer Japan's top actor.

Kyoko just continued to look at him and tilted her head to the side. Then after a brief moment, answered, "This is President Takarada's home so I'll be leaving the party soon after too. Also, I still have work to do tomorrow and the following days so I can't stay here. Would it be possible if we just met some place else?"

This idiot! Kanae raised her fingers to her face. She probably hasn't even realized that she's just been confessed to and took the question literally.

"Kyoko-san, I want to strangle you," Chiori-san muttered darkly. Kanae turned to her and saw exasperation on the third Love Me Section member's face.

"Huh?" Kyoko turned to her in confusion. "Why? What'd I do?"

The anti-climactic reply to the most sought-after man in show business caused a depressed cloud to hang over the guests. Everyone turned their disappointed looked back to Tsuruga-san, who was now an object of pity and sympathy.

But Tsuruga-san let out a sputter of laughter. "So..." he called back. "I'll see you then?"

He still responded to it? Kanae's shock was doubled. Then it hit her. She just realized it: Tsuruga-san really did belong with and was perfect for Kyoko. Not only was he a masochist; he was also an idiot.

"Umn," she said with a nod.

And that was how Tsuruga Ren started the beginning phase of the end of his legendary career in Japan as he moved on to a larger stage as an actor in America…

…Pathetically.

* * *

It was a Tuesday morning, Pacific Standard Time.

A crowded hall was set-up as the assembly/waiting area for the press conference for the Date Hirotaka movie epic. Ren, as always, was early. He saw a handful of familiar veteran actors his parents have been friends with for years, but they didn't make the connection because he introduced himself as Tsuruga Ren.

He was a nervous wreck and the press conference wasn't the reason.

According to some friends who made fun of him in the voicemail, it was all over the entertainment news in Japan.

Not that he confessed to Kyoko, but Japan's new Cinderella story: a young actress who stole away his title as "Co-Star Killer" arriving to the T.D.A. in the arm of Japan's Number One actor in a gown that wouldn't be gracing the fashion runways until next season and won as Best Supporting Actress. Whatever popularity she had now because of the crazy rumors have now been backed up with something much more credible.

His confession was a weird kind of rumor around Japan. Like an urban legend. The people present at the party were celebrities just like him and while some of them were reporters, the rumor was met with disbelief because it was too unbelievable and so out-of-character for someone like Tsuruga Ren.

Not that he cared what people thought of him, but the silent treatment he was getting from the one person he needed and wanted to hear from was beginning to wear at him. Ren was starting to think that he did the wrong thing.

"Ren," Yashiro-san stopped in his tracks and caught his attention.

"What?"

"Over there," Yashiro-san lifted his hand and pointed at something several feet away.

Ren turned with indifference and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Kyoko looking right at him.

Of course, she looked murderous and her fists were shaking, looking like she was going to pick a fight, but he didn't care! She was there.

Without another word, he walked up to her. What was she doing here? His thoughts flew wildly. He drifted towards her without breaking their eye contact, afraid she would vanish if he looked at anything else. Wasn't she supposed to be starting a new job today? So what was she...?

"Ren," she said in a slow and deliberate tone once he stopped in front of her.

"Kyoko," he breathed out. She was taking this important moment too seriously and looked absolutely terrifying.

"I just want to know..." she began.

Ren held his breath.

"What the hell..."

Hell? All the light feeling in him started to vanish.

"...does this 10 points mean?" She raised her hand to show him the last entry in her Love Me record book.

**_10 points  
_**_To give back the 10 points previously deducted for being my temporary manager.  
Mogami Kyoko deserves the full 100 points as originally stamped.  
-Tsuruga Ren  
_  
...Well shit...

* * *

**Chapter Notes:  
**  
- I decided to give this story the full blown happy ending: Seiichi got his good end. Finally.


	34. Epilogue: Kuon's Dream

**Epilogue  
**  
**Acknowledgment & Dedication:** Runadaemon for beta-reading. Thank you for staying with this story to the very end.

Disclaimers apply.

* * *

Kuon Hizuri woke up with a start.

He blankly stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to invite back sleep because it had been a while since he dreamt about little Kyoko-chan. He wondered why he'd dream about her after so long and couldn't figure out why the setting wasn't in the woods in Kyoto like it usually was.

He looked around the familiar surroundings of his bedroom in his parents' home. The window showed a picturesque sunny day complete with birds chirping. His body hurt after the long night he had running around town. He reached out across the the bed only to find the 18-year old he brought home last night had snuck out on him before his parents found them out. A sense of depression settled on him by the fact.

"Kuon?" A knock came to his door. It was his mother. "Your father's calling you down for breakfast."

"OK," he called back. He sat up and ruffled his hair before heading to the adjoining bathroom.

Because of their work, it was rare for the family to be together so he hurried or he would never hear the end of it. Meals together with everyone were very important to them, even if he wasn't too fond of food itself.

When he got downstairs, he found his mother stacking up magazines on the coffee table. It was the time of the month when the new ones arrived and she always made sure that the ones that featured family members were at the top of the pile.

Kuon walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Good morning, okaa-san."

"'Morning, baby," she smiled. The mere fact that he towered over her made the statement ridiculous. "You look awful. Everything OK?"

Kuon smiled and didn't want to worry her so he said, "I just had a long day yesterday."

"OK," she nodded. "Just don't tire yourself out. Can you set the table?"

The housekeeper was on vacation and it was one of the few times his mother made requests, so Kuon knew he couldn't refuse. "Sure."

He walked up to the dining table and opened the china cabinet. He mechanically took out plates and silver.

"Ah, Kuon!" His father perked up at the sight of him. He entered from the kitchen door with a dishful of grilled fish on one hand and soft tofu on the other. "I thought you'd sleep in."

"If I did, I would never hear the end of it, would I?" he answered nonchalantly, putting everything back and reached for the Eastern tableware to suit a Japanese breakfast.

His father set the dish on the table and laughed. "That's true." He walked up to him and started ruffling his hair.

"Hey!" he complained as he swatted the hand away.

"But you wook zhoooo cute earwy in the mowning!" Kuu Hizuri, the idiot father, pouted. When all he got was a heated glare from Kuon, he sighed. "Get the rice, would you?" he said unenthusiastically.

That was definitely not something he'd like hearing early in the morning. Most especially from his own father. "Fine."

He opened the kitchen door and his eyes softened and he smiled.

In a cute little apron his father just had to get her, by the stove, stood Kyoko. "The soup'll be done in a minute, oto-" she frantically said, only to stop, look up at him and frown.

"What?"

"You don't smile like that so early in the morning," she squinted.

"You snuck out on me," he complained as he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. He looked over the pot. Clear soup today, he mused. The whole breakfast composed of all the things she loved to eat, which the family indulged her.

"I was trying to wake you up, but I couldn't peel you off the bed," she said in a low tone, obviously embarrassed to be overheard by his parents. "Anyway, since you finished work late and had to drive us here late last night, it's OK." Then she wiggled free from him. "Now let me finish this thing or otou-san will fuss about delaying the meal."

Her words proved true when his father called out in a demand "Where's that rice?" from the dining room.

Once they settled into breakfast, Kuon felt himself relax and enjoy himself as everyone started talking about everything from the weather and their work. Even if all his blond hair was still dark and to the world, he was still known as Tsuruga Ren, there was one place in this world where Kuon Hizuri can be himself: in a table where nearly everyone who sat has been called "The Co-Star Killer" at least once in their careers.

If President Takarada ever found out about this secret reunion, all four of them are dead.

* * *

It was later that evening. Kuon was pouring coffee in two mugs. With Kyoko's preferences in mind, he reached for and placed the milk and sugar on the tray.

It's been three months since they arrived in America for the Date Hirotaka movie shoot and several months since they started dating. Today was Kyoko's last day before she flew back to Japan for another drama she was starring in. He'll follow soon after for the round of promotions he had to do for the movie he and Kotonami-san shot earlier that year. A month after, he and Kyoko will be flying off to New Zealand for the battle scenes of a movie epic with the Date movie.

With some incoherent excuse to their managers about taking Kyoko on a two-night trip before she left, he took her to his parents' house so they could see her before she left. She was going to meet her manager at the airport for their flight the next evening.

Kuon made his way through the long familiar hallway where he grew up. As he walked, he started thinking back to the events that happened after he found her looking at him with one of her scariest faces across the large hall where the actors were gathering from the press conference.

She really had the worst timing in the world, he wryly thought. They were in America – a place where her being a seventeen-year old was a big criminal deal to someone twenty-one like him. Also, the overwhelming feeling was something he had to endure almost three hours before they were finally able to get themselves alone at the hotel to talk where he convinced her that the one he loved was her, only her, always been here, and will always be her, leaving no room for her to misinterpret things.

It was probably God's way of pulling one last trick before giving him his reward. Thank God, they went back to Japan a week later and she was already eighteen when they came back for the start of the shoot.

She was really angry about the 10 points. She tried to give it back, saying that if he really found something unsatisfying about her work that he just had to deduct it, he shouldn't be giving her charity. However, it proved to be a useful jumping point for him to tell her when and where his feelings for her changed. When she still hesitated to give him an answer because of her trauma, he understood but his heart couldn't take it anymore and started to break. Then she jumped him, knocking them off their feet.

The role she had for the movie was minor compared to the one she auditioned for, but popular in the fanbase for having one of the most epic deaths in the story and appeared frequently in the movie. She didn't tell him about it because she didn't get the job until a few days before the press conference and it seemed like small news to give someone who had a lead villain role.

Kyoko bawled like a baby, just as she did when the director's own son offered her the role of Mio, when Director Date said that she was chosen because no one was more suited than her to play a (literal) vengeance ghoul who followed Ren's character. She kept saying, "I am! I'm a vengeance ghoul who follows Ren around!" over and over. Ren wasn't sure if he should have been happy or sad about that.

Being with Kyoko was not at all what he thought it would be like. If he had a vision of what kind of life he would have with Kyoko, it wasn't anything like what they had.

Apart from the stress of keeping everything between them a secret if they both still wanted to have the kind of privacy they had so they can both concentrate with work and not have to take on the added burden of gossip, she would sometimes jump back in horror and fall off the bed whenever he would smile to greet her in the morning. He would also catch or overhear her talk to someone who was not in the room more times than he could count. She was still prone to misunderstanding a lot of things he teased her about and often accused of him of being a bully. And, they have more fights about his eating habits and her excessive frugality than he cared to remember.

But…

He opened the door to the large den with a screen as big as a movie theater where they were watching a Shingai super-special version of Kismet the director gave them before they left Japan with a note saying he hoped his commentary through out the movie would help them become better actors. They were watching it for the first time because Kyoko will have a similar scene for her upcoming drama and wanted a reference, especially with Director Shingai's elaborate insights.

…it was all worth it, he finished the thought as he set down the tray, placed his hand on Kyoko's head and turned to her to tell her the coffee was ready. He wouldn't change a thing for all the world, even if the two of them are very clumsy with love.

He was surprised and taken aback when she was blankly staring far away in her thoughts. "Kyoko?"

His voice pulled her back to the present, but she only responded by blinking at him.

"What?" he asked in an exasperated tone.

Kyoko opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Then she raised the remote to rewind and stopped at a specific scene Kuon remembered as the kiss scene they had in Hong Kong. "There!" she cried in outrage. Kuon's eyes widened as the scene ran the first take they had in the kiss scene.

"This was in the special cut?"

"No, it's the additional NG commentary section." She assured him. Then she worriedly looked up at him. "I didn't really kiss you like that, didn't I?"

Kuon looked down at her face. It was filled with so much defensive indignation that he had to laugh. That was it?! He settled back beside her and answered, "Why did you think I ended up kissing you back?"

"Ugh!" Kyoko looked horrified. "So unprofessional!"

Kuon straightened up and raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking about me?"

"No!" she whined. She slouched and covered her face with her hands. "Me!" When her fingers relaxed, Kuon saw obsession glint in her eyes. "I knew Chiaki was supposed to be desperate in that scene, but not depraved! No wonder Director Shingai called for a cut. In front of so many people too! I was like a crazed anteater siphoning bait off your mouth! And I just threw in my tongue…"

Kyoko continued to rant on and Kuon let out a smile. Right, he wouldn't change a thing for the world.

"…I certainly hope I'm not like this in the other kiss scenes I had!" Kyoko continued. "People will think I'm some kind of kissing monster!"

She looked so distressed and indignant that he had a hard time keeping a straight face. He had to anyway, to make his point. "I certainly hope not, but it seems like you're forgetting one important thing…"

He wasn't really sure what expression he had on when he said it, but Kyoko froze and looked at him with wide eyes.

He reached out, pulled her close and wrapped an arm around her. He tipped her head so it leaned against his shoulder and started stroking her hair. "You were in character that time," he pointed out. "I don't know what you had subconsciously in your head when you did it, but you know that's how things go when you seriously get into character,"

"What I was subconsciously thinking was that I didn't want to screw up the scene because I never got to ask you about it so I had to do the best I could," she grumbled as she reached for a mug and held it out for him before she mixed her milk and sugar into the other mug of black coffee.

"Well," he chuckled. "You certainly did 'your best'," he teased.

"Kuon!" she cried out, softly hitting him on the shoulder. Then she smugly added, "At least, I knew what I wanted even if it was subconscious. The two times you initiated a kiss before we started dating, you kissed me like a girl - tight-lipped and all."

"Oh really?" Kuon's eye glinted at the challenge and she instantly recognized it.

She jumped back to the other end of the couch looking at him cautiously. "Kuon, I'm sorry..." she said with a small voice. "I didn't mean that."

"Kyo-"

"I didn't mean to question your masculinity," she expounded in a more harried tone and looked at him. "You really are very, very manly. There is no one else like you. And even if there's anything that was wrong with you, I'm the one who has to live with it so I'll take you however you are."

"What do you mean, you're 'the one who has to live with it'???" Really... she still says the most outrageous things. The only thing that made it OK was that she thought that he belonged to her. Still... "You make it sound I'm someone you just put up with." And after months of being together taught him, he knew she could never resist... He crinkled his eyebrows, gave her sad and sorrowful eyes, and pouted. "That... really hurt."

He knew he won when her eyes perked, but resisted. Then she sighed and snuggled against him as they continued to watch the movie. She was going to get it later.

"You didn't leave anything in the apartment, did you?" he asked a couple of minutes later, thinking of the hell of a time Kyoko had packing because of the back-and-forth they had staying over at each other's places.

"No, I'm sure taisho and the okami-san packed everything up," she answered as she drank from her mug, talking about her apartment in Japan while he was talking about the apartment in America they individually lived in with their managers arranged for them by LME. "I really need to give them a special treat to thank them for looking after my things, especially on the one day a month they close the Daruma-ya, just so I won't have problems moving into your place."

When the toll of keeping their relationship a secret with their packed schedules hindered their time together caused a short fight in his car, he casually mentioned that she should just move in. The next week, Kyoko surprised him when she took a big chunk of her movie advance and brought a one-bedroom apartment in his building. After she complained that he didn't seem all that enthusiastic about it, Kuon didn't want to trample on the fact that the apartment was bought with her hard-earned money and didn't talk about moving in until recently.

"Our place," he emphasized. "It's our place, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," she answered. Then she turned to him. "Is it OK if I stayed at the Daruma-ya while you're still here? The okami-san said that the taisho was really sad when I moved out so abruptly and didn't spend much time with them before flying them off here."

No... 'sad' wasn't the word he would use to describe how the taisho saw their relationship. 'Murderous' was what he saw when Kyoko announced that she was moving out of her room at the Daruma-ya for her new apartment and the old couple mistook it for moving in with him. It was still better than the 'horrifying' look he had the morning he brought Kyoko home after the first time she spent the night at his place in his apartment as his girlfriend.

"Sure," Kuon smiled. Anyway, Kuon himself wasn't looking forward to coming home to an empty apartment so he understood why Kyoko would want to spend time with people when she can. "Just move back in by the time I get there."

"Unless Maria-chan curses me, I'll be there."

"Huh?" He looked down at her.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Kyoko looked up at him, her chin on his arm. "When I get back I'm going to have to face a nine-year old who's very determined to marry you on the day she turns sixteen and will kill anyone who gets in her way. I mean…" she raised left hand and stared at the ring finger and narrowed her eyes. "How the hell do you explain THIS to a nine-year old? Otou-san almost had a nervous breakdown when we told him."

Kuon suddenly had the unpleasant memory of his father ranting on about how lucky he was that he was the one who's marrying Kyoko. At least because she was going to marry into the Hizuri family, Kuon was spared death because Kyoko's potential will definitely not go to waste. After that, he started making outrageous demands like three grandchildren by next year, having the wedding in the family home in Kyoto, criticized the ring for being pink which Kuon chose to match the Princess Rosa and fussed about who will give Kyoko away.

Thank God his mother was there... until she got close enough to be in hugging distance of her. Then she turned into a hyperactive mother-of-the-bride/future-mother-in-law/wedding coordinator.

"Stop looking at it like it's cursed!" Kuon scolded when her eyes were growing more and more suspicious the longer she looked at the ring. He was already going to have twisted memories as an old man when he reminisced about the time he proposed to the girl he loves and how she answered with a suspicious-toned "Why?" while looking at him as though he was a scam marriage broker.

"Ah!" Kyoko caught herself.

He really was… going to have a lot of funny memories to reminisce about.

They cuddled as they continued to watch the movie, their fingers linked between them. When it premiered, critics praised their acting because they seemed so in love. Kuon wanted to laugh - if they only knew what happened behind the scenes.

Kyoko suddenly turned to him and softly said, "Kuon?"

"Mmm?"

Primly, she said, "Don't cheat, OK?"

"Eh?" Kuon was astounded. He never thought that he showed any inclination of being the type to cheat. He always thought that they have a mutual understanding about the nature of their work. It wasn't his fault that his co-stars were pretty and he never gave off them an impression that their relationship was anything but professional. Besides, she was also surrounded by suspiciously too good-looking co-stars. More importantly, where did this sudden bout of insecurity come from? "And why would I do something stupid like that? The last guy who cheated you, you swore revenge on." he answered, gleefully thinking about that loser Fuwa who was shocked and furious that he actually 'took her away to America.'

Kyoko blinked. "Because you love me?"

"Well, yes," he sighed. "And also, you're actually very scary."

"I'm not scary!" Kyoko cried out defensively. "Anyway," she crossed her arms, "You got it all wrong! I'm talking about cheating on your meals! What kind of cheating were you talking about?"

* * *

**Chapter Notes:**

- Nobody seemed satisfied with the way I ended the last chapter. Sulks. Good thing I had an epilogue planned. I decided to use this style at the start because I really went all-out on the last chapter and didn't know how to top it. I wanted to stop it at the Hizuri breakfast, but I thought I should elaborate it some more on what happened after the 10 points bit. It became a little sneak peek on how corny Ren and Kyoko became after they became a couple - if I wrote it. I doubt anyone wants to read Kyoko having more self-doubt and hesitations while Ren unsuccessfully reassures her.

- Anyway, sorry to anyone who's expecting Kyoko to be cured of her weirdness and become a Yamato Nadeshiko. I firmly believe that her quirks are the things that Ren loves about her and probably what keeps him interested.

- And before anyone comments how Kyoko cannot marry Ren at 18 because Japan does not allow anyone 16 above/under 20 to marry without parents' consent, they're only engaged up to this point. And I never said they're getting married in Japan. There's a reason why people run away to other places to elope.

- Thanks to everyone who read the story! Reading roughly 150,000 words is no easy feat. Especially for those who have been following this from the very beginning, those you favorited and alerted. I'd enumerate everyone, but I'll end up adding 876 words to the word count. So you know who you are. Thank you thank you. I really appreciate.


End file.
